Dental school dedicates Koury Oral Health Sciences
Building
UNC’s School of Dentistry opened the doors to a new
education and research facility and honored a generous
alumnus and friend, Burlington, N.C., businessman
Maurice J. Koury, on April 27 at the dedication
ceremony of the Koury Oral Health Sciences Building.
The Koury Building, which adds 216,500 square feet of
space, adjoins the school's existing structures—Tarrson
Hall, Brauer Hall and Old Dental Building—at the corner
of Manning Drive and South Columbia Street.
Speakers included Chancellor Holden Thorp, Board of
Trustees Chair Wade Hargrove, School of Dentistry Dean
Jane Weintraub and Koury, the building’s namesake.
Those remarks were followed by a ribbon cutting and
brief reception. Attendees also participated in
student-led and architect-guided tours of the
state-of-the-art Koury Building.
“This is an exciting time for the UNC School of
Dentistry,” Weintraub said. “The Koury Oral Health
Sciences Building will allow us to continue being a
leader in dental education and research for many years
to come. We’re grateful beyond words for the investment
the General Assembly, our University and our private
donors, especially Mr. Koury, made in our school to
make this facility a reality.”
Koury is president of Carolina Hosiery Mills Inc. and
over the years his business interests have also
expanded to the development of hotels and commercial
properties.
“The Koury Oral Health Sciences Building will
allow us to continue being a leader in dental
education and research for many years to come.”
» Jane Weintraub
The Koury Oral Health Sciences Building is the latest
example of Koury’s generosity and impact across the
Carolina campus. Others include Kenan-Flagler Business
School’s Koury Auditorium; Koury Residence Hall; the
Koury Library in the George Watts Hill Alumni Center;
and the Koury Natatorium.
Koury, who enrolled at UNC as an undergraduate in 1945,
began his relationship with the School of Dentistry
nearly 30 years ago as a patient and through patient
referrals he made to the school.
Koury's undergraduate years at Carolina were the
beginning of a life-long commitment to public higher
education and Carolina in particular. Koury served two
terms on the University's Board of Trustees, and he
chaired the student affairs and development committees.
He also served two terms as president of the
Educational Foundation Inc. and was the longtime chair
of the foundation’s endowment trust. The Burlington
native played a major role in securing funding for the
Dean E. Smith Center and made a generous leadership
gift to the George Watts Hill Alumni Center. His
contributions to the College of Arts and Sciences
include the establishment of the Edna J. Koury
Distinguished Professorship, which honors his mother.
Koury’s University honors include the William
Richardson Davie Award, the highest recognition given
by the trustees, an honorary degree and the General
Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Medal.
The Koury Oral Health Sciences Building will provide
improved technology for teaching and collaborative
research across UNC and other campuses, larger lecture
rooms and meeting spaces for inter-class collaboration
and an expanded 105-seat patient simulation laboratory.
The Koury building design is registered with the U.S.
Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED) program, the national
accepted certification program for the design,
construction and operation of high-performance green
buildings, and is pursuing LEED Silver, but is tracking
for Gold Certification.
The joint commitment of the North Carolina General
Assembly and School of Dentistry alumni and friends
made possible the financing of the $118 million
facility. The General Assembly contributed $92 million
and the University provided $20.5 million towards the
construction of the new facility. School of Dentistry
private donors committed more than $6.5 million.