CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Expansion at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry was recently expanded with the opening of the Koury Building, more than four years after construction began.
The building, which adjoins several buildings at the corner of Manning Drive and South Columbia Street, officially opened its doors late last month. The $118 million facility wil allow UNC to train more dentists while also providing more space for oral health research. The building will provide an added 216,000 square feet to the School of Dentistry.
Thanks to the addition, the school will be able to accept about 20 more students per year than before. It also includes video conferencing technology, which allows professors to record lectures that can be viewed later. The expansion also includes a new patient stimulation lab with work stations that include everything but patients.
A new research lab will reunite researchers with teaching faculty and students.
Established in 1954, the UNC School of Dentistry has had a long history of educating and training dentists who practice in North Carolina. Eighty percent of the school's students end up practicing in the state.
The cost of the expansion was paid for by $112 million in state funds and $6 million in UNC money.