Ribbon-cutting at new Life Sciences Building

Nassau Community College will cut the ribbon on its new $40-million Life Sciences Building Tuesday.

The 74,000-square-foot building, which will house the college's nursing and chemistry programs, will allow the school to educate more students and use more modern equipment, college officials said in a statement.

The new building, which was funded with state and county money, will be unveiled at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in a campus courtyard outside the facility.

The building is designed to meet "Gold"-level LEED certification, college officials said in the statement. "Gold" is the second-highest green building certification offered by the U.S. Green Building Council. The outside of the college's building includes recycled copper, and its infrastructure system utilizes stormwater recycling and energy-efficient heating and air conditioning, officials said.

The building "is a symbol of how, through the utilization of our creative energies, we can undertake a substantial capital project and still be extraordinarily sensitive to environmental considerations," officials said in the statement.

New equipment in the building will include a "computerized hospital simulation lab" and a half-dozen training rooms for nursing students, officials said.

The facility "will promote a new standard of excellence in educating our students and in serving our community," said Chuck Cutolo, a spokesman for the college.

"Its state-of-the-art equipment will enhance our students' educational opportunities in a way that will allow for a more seamless transition to the workplace as well as their further educational pursuits," Cutolo said.

The college is on Education Drive in Garden City.