UNC raises final structural beam to its medical college building ...Saudi Arabia

If you’ve traveled around the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley in the past few months, you’ve likely noticed construction of a new building with a crane towering over the site near the intersection of 11th Avenue and 20th Street.

The university’s proposed college of osteopathic medicine is moving forward — and upward — both with the in-progress structure where Bishop-Lehr Hall once stood and with reviews and evaluations outside of Weld County.

UNC leaders, faculty, staff, alumni and local and state officials celebrated a construction milestone Thursday in Greeley with the placing of the final beam on top of the three-story building that spans 100,000 square feet.

Meanwhile, the medical college’s application with an accrediting organization was up for review this past week in Chicago. Approval would allow UNC to move a step closer to admitting students.

Currently, UNC is in the candidate status phase of its accreditation process. The candidate phase shows colleges have demonstrated the planning and resources to move within two years to the next phase, pre-accreditation, according to the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation.

In this phase, UNC may not recruit students, accept applications or fees, admit students or begin instruction,

The Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation planned to discuss the UNC college at its meeting Thursday and Friday. Commission members were to look at a pre-accreditation application from UNC in order to schedule a site visit. The site visit must be reviewed and approved before a college is granted pre-accreditation status, according to the commission’s secretary and vice president of accreditation standards, Daniel Mendelson.

UNC’s pre-accreditation site visit application was not approved when it came before the commission in the spring, Mendelson said. He added the commission does not release details about these decisions.

The university has since resubmitted the application. Mendelson said the results will be available online within 30 days.

Pre-accreditation status allows colleges to begin recruiting students.

The commission is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the accreditor of colleges of osteopathic medicine. Commission members meet throughout the year to review information, reports and other items related to accreditation of osteopathic medical schools.

The commission is a division within the American Osteopathic Association, which is an advocacy organization for osteopathic physicians and medical students.

UNC President Andy Feinstein said Thursday the university remains on target to admit its first class of students for fall 2026. If the resubmitted application is approved, a site visit could be scheduled in October, Feinstein said.

At the beam-topping ceremony, Feinstein called the event “very gratifying.” A little more than 11 months ago, UNC hosted a groundbreaking for the building.

“It’s a way of celebrating all of the hard work of the people in our community,” he said.

“It’s a UNC effort, the city, the county and the state,” he added.

The collaborative effort put into the new college was a theme of the day.

Former state Rep. Mary Young of Greeley was among those who signed the beam Thursday. With state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer, Young was instrumental in creating the bills to both start and fund the college.

In April 2024, the state passed a $247 million bill for four health care related projects at schools of higher education. UNC received the majority of the money with $127.5 million for the medical college building.

Young was a three-term state representative in District 50 covering east Greeley and Evans. She was selected for the seat by a Weld County Democratic Committee in 2019, and reelected in 2020 and 2022. Rep. Ryan Gonzalez, a Republican, challenged and defeated Young last year.

“I’m so thrilled and so excited to see the quick construction,” Young said. “It’s wonderful to see how the community understands how critical a piece of health care we have in our community.”

Young said UNC and the area are leaders statewide in filling a need for physicians.

This was a key motivation for UNC and Feinstein in the effort that began nearly five years ago. Through the process of pitching and discussing the medical college, Feinstein and others cited data pointing to a future shortage of physicians in Colorado.

Attendees signed the bright yellow beam with markers before it was raised into the air and secured to the top of the building.

Among those who signed the beam were Jim Helgoth and Kathleen Sears of Boulder. Sears is a 1976 UNC graduate and secretary of the UNC Foundation Board of Directors. The UNC Foundation was established in 1966 and provides support and donations for the university.

“I can’t believe how fast all of this came together,” said Sears, who was a student teacher at the Laboratory School that previously occupied Bishop-Lehr Hall. “It’s such a wonderful thing for the state of Colorado, the university and the city of Greeley.”

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