The event will also include a symposium with nationally renowned scientists and science journalists, as well as tours of the new structure.
All activities are free and open to the public.
Located on the western side of campus just north of College Street, Bicentennial Hall will house classrooms, laboratories, a library, and offices for six academic departments-biology, chemistry and biochemistry, geography, geology, physics, and psychology. Bicentennial Hall's environmentally sensitive features are meant to be a fitting tribute to the study of the natural environment and related subjects that will take place there. We are excited about the results of our efforts to be environmentally aware as we planned and built the structure. Bob Schaeffner of Payette Associates was the partner and project architect overseeing the building. The event will start with a lecture by the first of two keynote speakers-medical ethicist James F. Childress, the Edwin B. Kyle Professor of Religious Studies and professor of medical education of the University of Virginia.