On Thursday, April 13, Butler University faculty, staff, students, donors, and community partners celebrated the official opening of the University’s expanded and renovated Sciences Complex, a $100 million project that represented the largest infrastructure investment in Butler’s history. The project included the renovation of Gallahue Hall and the Holcomb Building, and the creation of Levinson Family Hall, a 44,000-square foot facility connecting the two buildings. The Sciences Complex now houses all of Butler’s undergraduate science programs in a central, fully connected corridor.

“I am thrilled about what this Sciences Complex means for our students and the academic experience at Butler,” Brooke Barnett, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, said at the event. “With 96,000-square feet of renovated and expanded space through this project, we have already expanded our science-based programs in exciting new ways by creating interdisciplinary programs such as public health and neuroscience that are collaborative and inspire creativity between our faculty and students.”

The celebratory event was held outdoors in the west mall in front of the scenic 13,200-square foot glass atrium of Levinson Family Hall, the same spot where members of the University community held a groundbreaking ceremony for the project in October 2019. The Sciences Complex now features high-tech classrooms, state-of-the-art lab spaces, and a fully renovated Ruth Lilly Science Library.

The Sciences Expansion and Renovation Project was one of the key funding priorities of the $250 million Butler Beyond fundraising campaign that concluded last summer. In total, more than 400 donors have committed nearly $38 million to the project. Many of the donors were on hand at the event and participated in a reception and tour of the new complex following the conclusion of the outdoor ceremony. In lieu of a traditional ribbon cutting, the ceremony featured a surprise live science experiment to commemorate the opening. 

Michael Hole ʼ08, a graduate of Butler’s biology program who is now a pediatrician, professor, and entrepreneur at the University of Texas at Austin, delivered remarks about the long-term impact the project will have in the lives of Butler students. On behalf of their fellow students and faculty, Kiana Jackson ʼ23, a chemistry major, and LuAnne McNulty, Professor of Biochemistry and Chemistry and Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, expressed appreciation to donors and partners for their part in making the complex a reality. College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Dean Jay Howard expressed special thanks to Butler faculty and staff for their financial contributions and personal dedication to the project over many years.

Among those present to celebrate the opening was Claire Fiddian-Green, President and CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, which contributed $13 million to the project. Also in attendance were representatives of the architecture and construction partners for the project.

“This Sciences Complex has transformed our campus, but our hope is that what happens inside these buildings will also transform our city and our world for the better,” Butler University President James Danko said. “We are very proud to be able to contribute to developing new talent for the region’s booming life sciences industry, and we look forward to seeing the ways these state-of-the-art facilities will provide new opportunities for partnership and collaboration with Indiana’s science and technology employers in the years to come.”