Edmonton- University of Alberta

[240glt]

Well now that we have our own forum I guess we can start all sorts of crazy threads!

U of A is Albertas' premier higher learning centre and is undergoing some unprecedent development & investment right now, Even at a time when other facilities in the province are scaling back. Post articles and discuss:

U of A gets $100M chunk of stimulus funds

EDMONTON — The federal and provincial governments are investing more than $100 million in the University of Alberta this year to help the school install new classrooms, laboratory spaces and air-quality upgrades.

The money is part of $2-billion economic stimulus program Ottawa announced earlier this year to jump-start construction and maintenance projects at Canada’s colleges and universities.

In the first round of the program, the federal and provincial governments are together investing $348 million for 28 projects at Alberta campuses.

The $100 million earmarked for the U of A will go toward upgrades at the chemistry and biological sciences buildings, and to equip the Health Research Innovation Facility along 87th Avenue.

Parts of the innovation facility have sat empty since the building was constructed, so the money will go to “fit-up” 10,000 square metres with labs and teaching space, U of A president Indira Samarasekera said Monday during a ceremony to announce the funding.

“This means 200 faculty and hundreds of students will have the space they need to conduct research and learning,” she said.

The new labs will help medical research primarily in the areas of diabetes, women’s and children’s health, organ transplantation and infectious diseases, she said.

Gary Goodyear, the federal minister of state for science and technology, said the infrastructure program is both a long-term investment in academia as well as a short-term economic stimulus for the construction industry.

The money being spent in Alberta is expected to create around 2,500 jobs, said Doug Horner, Alberta's minister of advanced education and technology.

http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/...258/story.html