The University of Memphis will soon begin construction on newdormitories for the Edward J. Meeman Biological Field Station.
Located 25 miles north of The University on a Chickasaw bluff,the field station provides classrooms and laboratories forbiological research and learning for The U of M Department ofBiology, according to the department's Web site. The field stationwill include living facilities for 40 people, slated for completionby spring 2005.
Construction on the $721,000 project is scheduled to beginwithin the next two months, according to Tennessee Board of Regentsdocuments. Grants from the National Science Foundation, The U of MFoundation and The U of M Provost's Office will fund the project,said Jack Grubaugh, field station director. The funding tookapproximately three years to obtain, he said.
Since opening in the 1960s, the field station has never offeredliving facilities for students or researchers, Grubaugh said.
"Students taking summer classes must either commute to the siteor stay in tents," Grubaugh said. "Staying in a tent might be funfor the first few days, but it gets old really quickly since summerclasses last from three to five weeks."
The men's and women's dormitories, which will be joined by acommon living area, offer convenient access to the field stationfor students and researchers who need to use the 623-acre site.
"This will allow us to open classroom opportunities for studentsand make the original facility more attractive to researchers,"Grubaugh said.
The new dormitory will be built in a field behind the site'sconference center, Grubaugh said. The facility's planners took careto construct with the least environmental impact, he said, addingthat few trees will be cut and research will go uninterrupted.
The field station is home to various types of research,including river ecology, botany and ecological genetics, and is oneof the leading sites for mammalian studies, Grubaugh said. Severalriver studies publications have been produced from researchconducted at The U of M field station.
"It's a wonderful resource," Grubaugh said. "It's hard to thinkof another urban university that has a field site where researchcan take place."
