The University of Michigan's Board of Regents has approved plans for a $150 million renovation of the Alexander G. Ruthven Museums Building on its Ann Arbor campus.
The university says the project will be the most significant renovation of the building since it was constructed in 1928.
The plans call for adding 100,000 square feet of space for active-learning classrooms and auditoria, and renovating 150,000 square feet of existing space. The renovated area will provide space for dry laboratories and the university's central administrative team, now housed in the Fleming Administration Building.
"The Ruthven project provides us with an opportunity to create contemporary classroom space in a prime, Central Campus location while preserving and reusing a landmark building," says Kevin Hegarty, executive vice president and chief financial officer.
Ruthven now is home to several programs, including the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, as well as the Anthropology, Natural History, Paleontology and Zoology museums.
When the nearby Biological Science Building is completed in the summer of 2018, most of the Ruthven occupants will be moved to the new building.
Funding for the Ruthven project will be provided from investment proceeds
The building was designed by architect Albert Kahn in 1928. In 1968, the regents named the building for Alexander G. Ruthven, the university's seventh president.
