Saint Vincent College has received a $7 million grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to go toward construction of the Sis and Herman Dupre Science Complex.

That complex will house the Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Computing.

It is "the largest private foundation gift ever received by Saint Vincent," said Jim Towey, president of the college located in Unity.

This building project was announced last Thursday and is the largest in Saint Vincent history.

Nearly 60,000 square feet will be renovated in the original Science Center, which was built in 1969. Another 45,000 square feet will be added to the center.

A $40 million fund-raising campaign is under way to finance the expansion of the Science Complex and provide endowment for science faculty professorships, student scholarships and research, and facility operation and maintenance.

Groundbreaking is expected next year with completion of the project anticipated in 2011.