The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg was one of seven organizations in Westmoreland County to receive funding through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP). Pitt-Greensburg will use the $500,000 award toward the construction of a new Life Sciences building on its Hempfield Township campus. The awards were announced in December 2020.
“We’re very grateful to receive this funding through the RCAP,” said Robert Gregerson, PhD, president of Pitt-Greensburg. “It will help us to move forward with our plans to construct a new state-of-the-art building with laboratory and instructional spaces for faculty and students in our nursing and natural science programs. This project also demonstrates Pitt-Greensburg’s commitment to excellence in academics. Our goal is to provide quality educational opportunities for our students, enabling them to graduate and fill the growing vacancies among regional and state healthcare providers and other high priority STEM occupations.”
The new facility will aid Pitt-Greensburg in meeting the enrollment and pedagogy requirements of its science and health-related programs. Future improvements to, and expansion of, the existing science facility (originally built in 1976) will also provide a strong basis for recruitment and retention of students, support enrollment goals for new majors, and increase student satisfaction.
Pitt-Greensburg’s plans currently call for construction of the new Life Sciences building to begin September 30 with completion scheduled for November 2022. The facility would then be open for classes in the spring of 2023.
The RACP is a Commonwealth reimbursement grant program administered by the Pennsylvania Office of Budget. It provides financial assistance for the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic and historical improvement projects.