Birck Hall of Science
In an effort to continue the rich tradition of science at the university, the construction of the Michael and Kay Birck Hall of Science was commissioned as part of a project dubbed "Benedictine 2000", an effort to meet the growing needs of an expanding student body that also included the construction of the Kindlon Hall of Learning and Founders' Woods apartments.
Michael Birck had served on the President's Advisory Council and as a member of the Board of Trustees. The Bircks had been extremely generous in their contributions to the university which led to the naming of the building in their honor.
Birck Hall is by far the largest science building on campus to date. It houses over 34 science labs and is the current location for the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum. John Mickus, the Chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences and Chair of the Natural Science Division said that "Scholl was a building that we outgrew. We left Scholl because it was a building that was too small to teach the sciences in..."In addition to the technological and space limitation of Scholl, the building was also in dire need of asbestos removal.
Ever since the Jurica brothers overhauled the natural science programs in the 1920s, the college has been searching for ways to accommodate the growing demand for science education facilities. The Birck Hall of Science has adequetly fulfilled that demand. However, if the history of constant change to the Lisle campus has been any indicator of events to come, there may yet be more in store for science here in the near future.