Regents Approve Munroe-Meyer Institute’s Move to Scott Campus

On Thursday, June 28, the University of Nebraska Board of Regents approved the move and rebuilding of the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation from its existing location on the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Omaha campus to the former First Data building on Pine Street, located on the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Scott Campus.

The project will include the complete renovation of the building on Pine Street to accommodate the programmatic needs for clinic, therapy, education, research collaboration and office spaces.

"The new MMI replacement facility will allow us to establish new and expand existing services, and improve the overall quality of care and patient experience – without these steps the building is only a structure, the MMI family makes this a truly amazing institution," said Karoly Mirnics, M.D., Ph.D., director of the institute. "The new facility will enable us to fulfill our mission 'to be world leaders in transforming the lives of all individuals with disabilities and complex health care needs, their families and the community.'"

MMI’s new location on Scott Campus is expected to strengthen existing collaborations between MMI and UNO, as well as foster new partnerships. MMI’s utilization of the Pine Street building will result in UNO having additional capital funds to be strategically invested to meet campus facility upgrade needs.

Examples of current faculty collaborations between MMI and UNO include:

• MMI’s Department of Speech-Language Pathology serves as an externship site for UNO students pursuing studies in acquired and developmental speech, as well as language and communication problems in an inpatient hospital and outpatient setting.
• MMI’s Department of Psychology’s collaborates with UNO Psychology on a master’s degree program in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) that prepares graduates to work with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities such as autism and also to work with individuals with mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. UNO students from Special Education can also take courses in the ABA program to specialize in ABA.
• UNO’s College of Arts and Sciences has partnered with the MMI for Spirituality, Public Health, Religious Studies (SPHRS) collaborations.
• UNO is partnering with the MMI for a collaboration on Native American science education, funded through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) program.
• Faculty in UNO’s College of Education and College of Arts and Sciences are working with the MMI on neuroscience research.

Services will begin in the new location in July 2020. The total cost of the move and renovation project is estimated at approximately $85 million, with the majority to come from private donors.