Otterbein College will officially dedicate its new Science Center, which has undergone a $20 million renovation and addition, at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 9 at the Science Center Plaza, located in the quad southeast of Main and West Streets.

Over 200 donors made the facility possible. The 135-room complex includes a renovation of the existing facility and a 30,000 square foot addition on the south side of the building. The project began in June 2007 and was completed in February 2009. The facility also features a new greenhouse and an atrium. The new facility will bring the departments together in modules that will include a large teaching lab, a small project lab and an office representing a discipline. This will be an atmosphere that will make the transition to graduate or medical schools easier for science students by providing modern laboratory equipment in an interdisciplinary, hands-on environment.

President Kathy Krendl will give the welcome with remarks by Board Chair Tom Morrison ’63, Board member Ted Huston ’57 and recent graduate Sadie Bartholomew ’07, who is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in biochemistry at Stanford University. Bartholomew will discuss first-hand the caliber of the science education at Otterbein and its ability to prepare students for future. She is currently a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, receiving a three-year fellowship providing tuition plus a stipend. Only six percent of applicants were awarded the NSF fellowship. She also is the recipient of the Cellular and Molecular Biology Training Grant through the National Institutes of Health, which also covers her tuition plus a stipend.

Accepting the keys to the Center will be Otterbein students Anna Haller ’10, Troy Burton ’11 and Justin Young ’10. In attendance will be the Otterbein College board of trustees, the science campaign committee, students, alumni, friends and community supporters. The dedication ceremony will be followed by a reception and tours of the Center.