Letters to Campus Community

U-M buys former Pfizer campus

 

December 18, 2008

To the Campus Community:

The University of Michigan has taken a critical step in advancing our work in health, biomedical sciences and other disciplines with today’s decision by the Board of Regents to purchase the former campus of Pfizer Inc. in northeastern Ann Arbor.

This acquisition of the 174-acre site, adjacent to North Campus, includes 30 laboratory and administrative buildings, with nearly 2 million square feet of space, as well as amenities and open land. More importantly, this is a bold commitment by the University to invest in research that will benefit our community, our state and beyond.

We anticipate this acquisition will create 2,000 jobs over the next decade, and we are excited about the possibilities before us. We are increasing our capacity to contribute as one of the great research universities, while creating jobs that ensure our region’s intellectual and economic vitality.

This new campus will provide much-needed facilities for U-M’s growing research community and support the recruiting of new scientists to Ann Arbor. It also will open up greater opportunities for students to participate in research projects. We will encourage deeper collaborations with industry, such as pharmaceutical, biotech, energy, nanotechnology and other firms, as well as startup companies launched by U-M faculty, staff and students. Ideally, we will find private sector partners to locate on the campus and further the research and business objectives we develop. A campus-wide committee will be charged with determining how best to integrate existing and newly arriving scientific teams whose research interests are similar.

While some renovation will be needed to former Pfizer laboratories, many are nearly in the configuration and condition needed for U-M researchers. We also are determining how to link the new campus with the rest of the University through transit and technology. Funds used for the purchase are being drawn from U-M Health System reserves and our investment proceeds.

To learn more about this development, please visit www.umich.edu.

We are confident this expansion will advance both the University and the region, because it represents a strategic use of U-M resources while attracting and retaining skilled workers, strengthening our state’s life sciences industry, and ensuring U-M’s national standing in research and discovery.

Sincerely,

Mary Sue Coleman
President

Robert P. Kelch
Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs