{"id":111773,"date":"2022-06-23T16:15:09","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T21:15:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=111773"},"modified":"2022-06-24T15:33:43","modified_gmt":"2022-06-24T20:33:43","slug":"university-officials-mark-high-point-in-new-stem-facility","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/university-officials-mark-high-point-in-new-stem-facility\/","title":{"rendered":"University Officials Mark High Point in New STEM Facility"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Jonathan Nance, assistant director of athletics academic operations, signs the final beam before it is installed in the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation. University officials, contractors and construction workers participated in a topping out ceremony Thursday (June 23) on the Ole Miss campus. Photo by Thomas Graning\/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services<\/p><\/div>\n

OXFORD, Miss. \u2013 University of Mississippi<\/a> officials and others celebrated a milestone in the construction of the emerging Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation<\/a> during a topping-out ceremony Thursday (June 23) on campus.<\/p>\n

Touting the economic and academic implications of the 202,000-square-foot science, technology, engineering and mathematics building, Chancellor Glenn Boyce was among some 100 attendees who watched as a construction crane hoisted a structural beam to the top of the building, signifying that it has reached its maximum height. The $175 million facility is on pace to open in fall 2024.<\/p>\n

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Workers secure the last steel beam, covered with signatures by UM students, faculty, staff and alumni, as part of a topping out ceremony for the Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation. Photo by Thomas Graning\/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services<\/p><\/div>\n

“At the University of Mississippi, we’re committed to advancing teaching and research along with the service and innovation we bring to the state and world,” Boyce said. “The Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation is a vital part of that commitment.<\/p>\n

“We are excited to reach this significant milestone and look forward to its completion when it will be a crown jewel of our university as one of the nation’s leading student-centered learning environments for STEM education.”<\/p>\n

UM administrators, faculty, staff and students, as well as Chet Nadolski, chief operating officer at Yates Construction of Jackson, signed the beam before it was lifted, hewing to a construction tradition also meant to express appreciation to the building contractor and crew.<\/p>\n