Media Contact                          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Genna McLaughlin
Public Relations Specialist/Writer
412-365-1140

CHATHAM COLLEGE DEDICATES NEW SCIENCE COMPLEX

PITTSBURGH-Chatham College will dedicate a new Science Complex at 9 a.m., Thursday, April 27, outside the complex on the Shadyside campus. Chatham alumna and NASA Chief Scientist Kathie Olsen, class of 1974, will be the keynote speaker at the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The public is welcome.

The Science Complex, Chatham's first new building in more than 30 years, includes renovated Louise C. Buhl Hall of Science, built in 1930, and the new Science Laboratory Building that joins it. The complex was designed by Einhorn, Yaffee, Prescott, an architecture, engineering and technology design firm from Boston.

Construction on the complex began in 1998. Using a three-story glass atrium as a link, architects joined Louise C. Buhl Hall of Science to the new Science Laboratory Building, thereby preserving the historic building and maintaining the look of the 131-year-old campus.

The atrium also serves as home to the restored Alumnae Memorial Window, a Louis Comfort Tiffany original from 1889. The window will be unveiled following the ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m.

Chatham College's tradition in science dates back to its founding in 1869. The college counts many of its graduates among great women in science including Environmental Pioneer and Chatham Alumna Rachel Carson, class of 1929, and Chatham Alumna Kathie Olsen, NASA's most senior ranking woman.

For more information about the dedication events, call the office of communications at 412-365-1140.

Founded in 1869 as one of America's first colleges for women, Chatham is one of the only colleges in Western Pennsylvania still awarding undergraduate degrees solely to women. Today Chatham College provides its more than 1,000 students with a liberal arts education and pre-professional programs and offers graduate studies, continuing education and certification programs for women and men.