With the end of the year just around the corner, the construction of West Liberty University’s Campbell Hall of Health Sciences on WLU’s main campus is coming right along with the addition of steel beams to the developing structure and the construction of two stair towers.

West Liberty University Chief Financial Officer Jack Wright said the building should be completed and ready to be occupied by December 2013.

“The project has moved along very well,” Wright said.

“I think when they started to put steel up it made a big difference. All the sudden you see a beam go up in the air that’s 60 to 80 feet high, you get a completely new view of the building,” he said. “We started to put steel up, and we hope to have all the steel erected by mid-December and if the weather holds out we’ll have the roof on by the first of the year. That’s very important to us because it will allow us to work inside the building between January and February.”

The 72,000-square-foot building is being built by Nello Construction based in Canonsburg, Pa. According to Wright, the first floor will hold the chemistry department, the second floor will hold the dental hygiene program and the third floor will have the physician’s assistant and nursing programs. The fourth floor will remain empty to allow room for the West Liberty health science programs to expand.

“Some science programs require equipment and won’t require any more than a classroom. As we decide which to direction to go, we’ll renovate the fourth floor accordingly,” Wright said.

Wright said the construction suffered a slight setback when a slip in the fill occurred due to weather from Hurricane Sandy, though the slip did not interfere with erecting the steel beams.

The Campbell Hall of Health Sciences will be the first completely new building to be constructed on West Liberty University’s main campus since 1972.

In addition to the Campbell Hall building, WLU’s regulation-sized women’s soccer field has also been completed and will be ready for the team’s spring season.

The Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies will matriculate its first class of students in July, 2012.

The ARC-PA has granted Provisional Accreditation to the Physician Assistant Program sponsored by West Liberty University.

Provisional accreditation is an accreditation status. The granting of provisional accreditation indicates that the plans and resource allocation for the proposed program appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards, if fully implemented as planned. Provisional Accreditation does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. Provisional status is limited to no more than three years for any program.

The date for the next comprehensive review of the program by the ARC-PA will be scheduled to occur no earlier than four months after students have entered the clinical phase of the professional program and no later than 6 months after graduation of the first class.

Note: Provisional Accreditation is the status given to all newly ARC-PA accredited program.