Fact Sheet

Ursinus has embarked on a new era for science education and undergraduate student research with the Innovation and Discovery Center (IDC).

  • Dedicated in October 2018
  • Cost: $29 million
  • Funding: The Innovation and Discovery Center (IDC) is the centerpiece of Keep the Promise, the 150th anniversary campaign for Ursinus College and the largest comprehensive campaign in the college’s history. The remainder of the funding is being secured through tax-exempt municipal bonds.
  • Architect: Ellenzweig Associates Inc.
  • Builder: Kinsley Construction
  • The IDC is 42,500 square feet and physically connects Thomas and Pfahler halls. It is the primary hub of scientific research and cross-disciplinary learning for more than 1,500 undergraduate students.
  • It is the first new major construction on the Ursinus College campus in more than 10 years, when the Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center was built in 2005.
  • The facility supports the unique multidisciplinary nature of a liberal arts education by integrating previously separate subjects and spaces with the aim of strengthening science education, policy, entrepreneurship and student research. It creates a fully realized academic community with clusters or neighborhoods for multidisciplinary fields such as neuroscience and biochemistry and molecular biology. 
  • The IDC is designed with collaboration in mind. Non-programmed open spaces with floor-to-ceiling whiteboards, flexible seating and laboratory spaces act as “idea labs” that incorporate advanced functionality for teaching and student-faculty research.
  • Two flexible “smart” classrooms on the main floor—a 56-person classroom and a 32-person classroom—allow spaces to be reconfigured for different uses and modern pedagogies.
  • The IDC is home to two of the college’s three interdisciplinary centers. The Parlee Center for Science and the Common Good provides opportunities for students to become outstanding civic and scientific leaders. They also strive to better understand the long-term cultural, political and economic implications of science discovery and research. It also houses the U-Imagine Center for Integrative and Entrepreneurial Studies, which encourages students to exercise innovation, leadership, imagination and creativity.