Auburn names building for Hubbard

AUBURN, Ala. (WALA) - The Auburn University Board of Trustees voted on June 22 to name a new facility at the Auburn University Research Park after Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard.

In appreciation of his support in advancing the university’s academic mission and role in economic development, the board named the building the Mike Hubbard Center for Advanced Science, Innovation and Commerce.

Hubbard was instrumental in securing half of the $28 million that is being used to build the center.

“This is an unexpected honor, and is very much appreciated,” Hubbard told the board. “It is an honor and a privilege to represent Auburn University each day in Montgomery. I always want what is in the best interest of the university.”

The 84,000-square-foot center is currently under construction. It will feature 20 laboratories as well as shared support spaces and specialized equipment areas for scientific research in bioenergy, water quality, food safety, genomics, information science and ecosystem health.

Researchers from Auburn’s colleges of Agriculture; Engineering; Sciences and Mathematics; and Architecture, Design and Construction; and its School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences will be housed in the facility.

The center, which is expected to have an immediate economic impact in Alabama by creating jobs for its actual construction, has the potential when completed to bring in millions of dollars in grants and contracts annually, which can result in 10 times that amount in amplified economic impact per year.