Auburn University has officially opened its $224 million STEM + Agricultural Sciences Complex, the largest academic construction project in university history.
The 265,000-square-foot complex brings together six departments from the College of Agriculture and the College of Sciences and Mathematics.
“At its core, this building was designed around a simple idea: bringing people together so they can solve problems together,” Auburn President Christopher B. Roberts said at a ribbon-cutting on Friday. “The challenges facing our world do not fit neatly within a single discipline. Whether we are addressing food security, environmental stewardship, human health or emerging technologies, progress depends on collaboration. The STEM + Ag Complex was designed with that in mind.”
Nearly 70% of the complex is devoted to teaching and research laboratories, with shared workspaces designed for collaboration.
For the College of Agriculture, the complex houses the departments of crop, soil and environmental sciences; entomology and plant pathology; and horticulture. The College of Sciences and Mathematics departments housed in the complex are biological sciences, geosciences, and Mathematics and Statistics. About 350 faculty, staff and researchers moved into the complex over the summer.
“The true significance of this complex is not what Auburn built. It is what Auburn will accomplish because it was built,” Roberts said. “Years from now, the most important measure of this complex will be the discoveries made here and the lives improved because of the work that happens within these walls.”
