Concept art rendering of the Wichita Biomedical Campus in downtown Wichita.Wichita State University
Location for WSU/KU Wichita Biomedical Campus approved
Aug. 1, 2023
By WSU Strategic Communications
Wichita Biomedical Campus site map
Wichita Biomedical Campus
Wichita State University, WSU Tech and the University of Kansas are moving forward
to build an approximately 471,000‑square‑foot, $300 million shared biomedical campus
in the heart of downtown Wichita.
The Wichita City Council approved a plan today that will move forward a project between
Wichita State University and the University of Kansas to build a 471,000-square-foot
health sciences center in the heart of downtown Wichita.
Council members agreed to sell or lease two tracts of land – at 214 S. Topeka (where
the Wichita Transit Center, set to move to Delano, is currently located) and a parking
lot at the southeast corner of Broadway and William.
With $205 million of the necessary $300 million raised for the project, construction
on the Wichita Biomedical Campus is expected to start in early 2024 and be completed
some time in 2026.
The campus will combine WSU’s College of Health Professions, WSU Tech’s Health Professions
program and Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy into
one location. There will be shared spaces for advanced laboratories, clinical research
and technology.
Initially, about 3,000 students and 200 faculty and staff will be housed at the center,
with opportunities for growth in existing and new programs.
The pooling of these collective health science and biomedical resources and experiences
will result in remarkable opportunities for collaboration, innovation and research.
Once open, the Wichita Biomedical Campus will be nothing short of transformational
for Wichita and the entire state in health care and health care education, says WSU
President Dr. Rick Muma.
“In my career as a physician assistant, I learned and researched at one of the largest
health science centers in the nation, The Texas Medical Center in Houston; and I experienced
the breakthroughs and innovations that are borne from the proximity and energy fostered
in that type of facility,” Muma said. “Pooling the collective resources and successes
of Wichita State, WSU Tech and the University of Kansas will ultimately improve the
way health care professionals are educated; and, in turn, improve patient outcomes
for all Kansans.”
With the future health of Kansans in mind, the building will include state-of-the-art
simulation centers and standardized patient exam rooms as well as modern learning
facilities.
“This new facility, along with the combined strengths of the KU and Wichita State
University professional health programs, means that future students will benefit from
the latest technologies and teaching modalities,” said Dr. Robert D. Simari, executive
vice chancellor of the University of Kansas Medical Center. “And as students from
multiple health programs learn to interact with each other, it improves the effectiveness
of interprofessional medical teams and, ultimately, improves the health of the patient.”
The Wichita Biomedical Campus will be one of the largest investments ever in downtown
Wichita.
“Our commitment to downtown is no accident,” Muma says. “If you look at other health
science centers in the country, they are almost always located downtown. The central
location for the biomedical campus will create a health care corridor that will strengthen
collaboration and support interprofessional health care learning, partnerships and
research. It will benefit our entire community.”
The high-tech facility will draw students, educators and researchers from around the
country — attracting and retaining talent and resources to the Wichita area and boosting
the economic success of the entire state.
“We hope this project will be a model for how Kansas Board of Regents institutions
can work together with state and local governments to not only improve education and
training opportunities for students, but to advance economic development within our
region,” said Simari.
About Wichita State University
Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling
almost 22,000 students between its main campus and WSU Tech, including students from
every state in the U.S. and more than 100 countries. Wichita State and WSU Tech are
recognized for being student centered and innovation driven.
Located in the largest city in the state with one of the highest concentrations in
the United States of jobs involving science, technology, engineering and math (STEM),
Wichita State University provides uniquely distinctive and innovative pathways of
applied learning, applied research and career opportunities for all of our students.
The Innovation Campus, which is a physical extension of the Wichita State University main campus, is one
of the nation’s largest and fastest-growing research/innovation parks, encompassing
over 120 acres and is home to a number of global companies and organizations.
The University of Kansas is a major comprehensive research and teaching university
that serves as a center for learning, scholarship and creative endeavor. KU is the
only state university in Kansas to hold membership in the prestigious Association
of American Universities, a select group of 71 public and private research universities
that represent excellence in graduate and professional education and the highest achievements
in research internationally. KU has more than 28,000 students across five campuses
and 14 schools, including schools of medicine and pharmacy. The university has 48
graduate programs ranked in the Top 50 nationally by U.S. News & World Report. Through
its KU Medical Center, the university provides outreach to all 105 counties in Kansas.
Each year, the university conducts more than $280 million in externally sponsored
research.
