The prominence of the Wichita Biomedical Campus on the downtown skyline will grow in the coming weeks as workers install the exterior’s finished look.

Terracotta cladding, metal panels and ultra-high performance concrete panels will soon cover the orange backup wall panels now visible on much of the nine-story building’s exterior. With the building around 85% enclosed, interior work is beginning with drywall, painting and tile.

“They’re working hard right now to get the building enclosed, especially because it’s winter,” said Stacy Christie, director of special projects and facilities planning for the Wichita Biomedical Campus. “They’re doing a great job.”

Christie said the 350,000-square-foot building is on track to be finished in December, with staff moving in during the spring of 2027. The building opens for classes in the summer of 2027. Drywall is largely complete on the first and second floors. Most of the stairwell center rails are in. Interior framing continues on the upper floors.

The sixth, seventh and eighth floors, connected by internal stairs, are for the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita and KU School of Pharmacy-Wichita. The fifth floor will be a shared simulation floor between KU, Wichita State and Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology.

Ascension Via Christi — Wichita State University School of Nursing will house its programs on the fourth floor. The third floor will feature physical therapy labs, audiology booths and labs and the Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic.

The second floor will serve as a hub for students with testing, counseling, meeting rooms and study spaces. Four nursing bed labs are located on the second floor. WSU’s Physician Associate program will move to the second floor from its Old Town location. The first floor will be home to the facilities department, shipping and receiving and classrooms that also serve as storm shelters.

The Wichita Biomedical Campus is a joint project between Wichita State University and the University of Kansas. Once complete, the campus will combine WSU’s College of Health Professions programs, including its Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, WSU Tech’s health care program and the Wichita campuses of KU School of Medicine and KU School of Pharmacy — all into one location.

Learn more about WSU’s and KU’s roles in the WBC.

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Wichita State University is Kansas' only urban public research university, enrolling more than 25,000 students between its main campus and the WSU Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (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 National Science Foundation ranked WSU No. 1 in the nation for aerospace engineering R&D, No. 2 for industry- and defense-funded engineering R&D and No. 9 overall for engineering R&D.

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.

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