A new 24,896 sq.ft science building for Biology and Chemistry is under construction. This new facility is necessary in part due to the dramatic growth in the science program at BHSU in the last decade. This new Biology and Chemistry building will be home to state of the art teaching and research laboratories. The price tag for the new building is $8.2 million, and was funded in part by South Dakota House Bill 1085 which authorized $74.5 million in state bond issued to finance construction, renovation, and modernization of 11 higher education science facility and laboratory projects. The new building will meet the specifications for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification at the silver level. BHSU has made a commitment to sustainability and is incorporating components to ensure the buildings are LEED certified. With this project, 90 percent of the materials are being re-used or recycled.
The new science building will be home of the Center for the Conservation of Biological Resources (CCBR), a plant research laboratory, two chemistry research laboratories, and six new teaching laboratories for biology and chemistry.