Media tour, dedication of UI’s new Psychological and Brain Sciences building set for Jan. 24

WHAT: The University of Iowa will host a ceremony to dedicate the new Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences building.

The first centralized home for the department will transform teaching and research, and will position the university to better prepare students for learning modern psychology and finding jobs in the field.

Before the ceremony, media can tour the building, which will highlight its attributes to academics, research, and student success.

WHEN: The media-only tour will begin at 2:15 p.m.

The dedication ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. and will include remarks from:

• J. Bruce Harreld, UI president
• Stephen Goddard, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Mark Blumberg, chair of the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
• Olivia Westemeier, undergraduate student in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences

WHERE: 340 Iowa Ave., Iowa City (northwest corner of Iowa Avenue and Gilbert Street)

Learn more on UI Facilities Management’s Campus Master Plan page.

BACKGROUND: The Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences is among the largest undergraduate departments at the UI—with 1,200 declared psychology majors, 500 minors, more than 200 undergraduates performing research in faculty labs, and more than 23,000 student credit hours taught in psychology each year.

With the UI’s renewed emphasis on neuroscience—the 2016 creation of the Iowa Neuroscience Institute and the 2017 introduction of an undergraduate major in neuroscience—faculty, staff, and students in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences will be housed in a central location for the first time after having been housed at various campus locations.

View additional footage showing a time-lapse sequence of the building’s construction here.

The building project cost $33.5 million, and is being paid for by a combination of funding sources, including the UI, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and donors.