St. Edward’s University announces new science center John Brooks Williams Natural Sciences Center – North Building

AUSTIN — St. Edward’s University invites the community to explore the newest addition to campus – the John Brooks Williams Natural Sciences Center-North Building. A grand opening event will be held on Friday, Sept. 8, from 1:30-3p.m.

Friday, Sept. 8, 1:30-3 p.m. -- Event Overview
1:30 pm – Building dedication and opening remarks

2-3 p.m. – Enjoy free Amy’s Ice Cream and watch live experiments conducted by faculty members and current science students. Explore the new building on your own or with a tour guide and experience the “see-through science” design of the center’s laboratories and classrooms.

Visitors won’t want to miss a special guest appearance by DiVine, a vine that comes to life reaching 9-feet tall. Entwined around a tree or sprawled on a wall, DiVine is incognito until she leaps to her next location. For more on DiVine visit www.thelivinggarden.com

About the John Brooks Williams Natural Sciences Center
When complete, the $35 million John Brooks Williams Natural Sciences Center, an approximately 111,000-square foot, two-building facility of the highest caliber, will be an inviting hub of activity on the St. Edward’s University campus. The North Building provides spacious classrooms, laboratories with advanced instruments for the Biology and Chemistry programs, comfortable lounges, gallery space for research displays, and cozy spaces for small-group study. The South Building, expected to open in 2010 will offer space for the Computer Science, Mathematics and Physics programs, including technology-rich classrooms, an expansive auditorium to serve as a venue for lectures and symposiums and high-powered computing capacities for research.

The estate of businessman John Brooks Williams, owner of Markle Steel Company, provided $12.5 million to construct the expansive center. Williams’ longtime friend, University Trustee, John H. Bauer, ’62, served as executor of Williams’ estate.

Founded by the Congregation of Holy Cross, St. Edward's University has been named as one of America's Best Colleges for 2006 by U.S. News &s World Report and was selected by The Princeton Review for inclusion in the guide Colleges with a Conscience. St. Edward's is a private, Catholic, liberal arts university of more than 4,900 students located in Austin, Texas.

# # #