TACOMA, Wash. – University of Puget Sound is pleased to announce that its new Center for Health Sciences, scheduled to open this fall, will be named Weyerhaeuser Hall in honor of Bill and Gail Weyerhaeuser.
The decision to honor the Weyerhaeusers was made unanimously by the board of trustees in recognition of the lifetime contributions of Bill and Gail Weyerhaeuser to the university and its constituents. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for Weyerhaeuser Hall will be held October 28, 2011.
“Bill and Gail have been generous supporters of every strategic effort of Puget Sound since 1978—for 33 years, across five decades, in every conceivable manner: personally, strategically, and financially,” said President Ronald R. Thomas. “Both are clinical psychologists, and as this building will house the university’s psychology department and be dedicated to the science and art of healing and the enhancement of human life, I can think of no better place to bear the name Weyerhaeuser Hall.”
Bill Weyerhaeuser (pictured above), chair of the board of Columbia Bank, has served on the University of Puget Sound Board of Trustees through three presidencies and was chair of the board from 1993 to 2003. He co-chaired the most recent capital campaign (1994–2000) and was honored nationally by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges for his visionary leadership. Working out of an office in Tacoma, he serves on two public company boards, is president of the Seattle Opera board, and is a member of the Harold E. LeMay Museum board.
Gail Weyerhaeuser has dedicated herself to the future of the community as a former member of the University of Washington Tacoma Advisory Board, former chair of the Charles Wright Academy board, a supporter of the College Success Foundation and other youth-oriented institutions, and through her clinical practice.
“Gail and I are honored and very humbled by this recognition,” Weyerhaeuser said of the board’s unanimous decision to name Weyerhaeuser Hall. “Over our many years of association with University of Puget Sound, it has been a privilege to be part of this very hardworking, very committed board, and to work with such terrific leadership that has brought about such tremendous growth for the university. I love Tacoma and have come to care deeply for this place, which is such a wonderful resource for Tacoma.”
The Center for Health Sciences is the centerpiece of Puget Sound's 20-year master plan and lies at the core of an academic strategic plan that advances the university’s mission as a national liberal arts college. The 42,500-square-foot building, at the south end of campus across from Memorial Fieldhouse, will open for classes and clinics in the fall.
The $22 million project provides state-of-the-art facilities and technology for classroom study, research, and clinical practice in occupational and physical therapy, exercise science, psychology, and neuroscience. The university's occupational and physical therapy departments will continue to provide free health care services to more than 300 referred patients annually in custom-designed clinics.
Peter Bohlin, recipient of the American Institute of Architects 2010 Gold Medal, is the principal architect and designer. Working with principals at Bohlin Cywinski Jackson of Seattle, he created a building that allows students and professors in the five health sciences to share laboratory and clinical spaces, encouraging collaboration across disciplines in research, learning, and practice.
The four-story center has been designed to blend with the Tudor Gothic style of the buildings around it and to meet the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards. It was named one of the “Excellent 10” great economic development projects that took place in Pierce County during 2010 by the Economic Development Board of Tacoma-Pierce County.
For more on the Center for Health Sciences visit: www.pugetsound.edu/chs
Press-quality photos of the building and of Bill Weyerhaeuser can be downloaded from: www.pugetsound.edu/pressphotos.xml
Photos on page: Top right: Center for Health Sciences under construction south end, May 2011, by Ross Mulhausen; top left: Bill Weyerhaeuser; above right: center under construction, east side, May 2011, by Ross Mulhausen; above left: Orthoclinic rendering; above: Lobby rendering.
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