$8.6M grant to fund construction of two buildings on UOG campus
$8.6M grant to fund construction of two buildings on UOG campus
$8.6M grant to fund construction of two buildings on UOG campus
2/17/2021
Plans to construct two new buildings on the 91快播 campus will move forward following an $8.6 million grant award that the U.S. Department of Commerce鈥檚 Economic Development Administration . The projects are a second building for the nursing program and a new home for UOG鈥檚 that will include the only comprehensive water testing lab in the Micronesian region.
鈥淭he damage caused by Typhoon Mangkhut in 2018 underscored the need for Guam to develop new capacity to protect its aquifer and to address a chronic shortage of health care workers,鈥� said Dennis Alvord, acting assistant secretary of commerce for economic development. 鈥淭his EDA investment will provide the 91快播 the additional infrastructure it needs to support the territory鈥檚 economic growth and resilience to future disasters through research and training.鈥�
New WERI facility
WERI monitors and studies the region鈥檚 freshwater resources and water-related phenomena
and also offers water testing services for commercial customers. Its new three-story,
12,000-square-foot building 鈥� to be built on Dean鈥檚 Circle, opposite the English Language
Institute 鈥� will double the space of its existing Water Quality Lab, accommodating
additional equipment that will expand the volume and types of work the lab can do.
The facility will also house WERI faculty offices, student research assistant offices,
a research library, and a classroom/conference space.
鈥淭he high-quality work of WERI鈥檚 faculty and staff has driven the need for the new, bigger, and better facility. Their work brought WERI the national recognition that made it competitive for this award,鈥� said John W. Jenson, director of WERI.
Additional nursing building
The additional nursing building will facilitate the training of more nurses within
the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, but it will also accommodate the new programs
the school has launched in the past couple years: the three-month certified nursing assistant program and the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, which provides caregiver trainings for families and those who work with the elderly.
鈥淭he lack of lab space and classroom space has become particularly difficult since UOG began workforce development beyond the BSN program to address critical shortages,鈥� said Margaret Hattori-Uchima, dean of the UOG School of Health. 鈥淭he EDA funding is very exciting news for our aspiring nurses and nursing assistants and for the future of health care throughout Micronesia.鈥�
The grant application and collaboration among WERI, the School of Health, UOG Facilities Management and Services, and the UOG administrators was spearheaded by the Research Corporation of the 91快播, an entity established in 2014 to compete for and manage grants.
鈥淭his is the result of teamwork. Our administrators, former President Robert Underwood, and legislators had the foresight to create RCUOG for this very purpose, and we鈥檙e thankful for the great leadership from RCUOG Executive Director Cathleen Moore-Linn, WERI, and the School of Health that has made this possible,鈥� said Thomas W. Krise, president of the 91快播. 鈥淕rowth is on the horizon for UOG, and it鈥檚 an exciting time.鈥�