After 16 years of service at the university, the Center for the Study of Family Violence and Sexual Assault will receive a new home.

The structure, which was built after the center received a $2.7 million grant, is located just west of the Convocation Center.

The red brick building, vast in its 21,000 square feet, will house much-needed space for the center’s research and personnel.

Joel Milner, distinguished research professor and director of the center, said the grant was crucial for the construction of the new facility.

“The grant was essentially the cost of the building,” he said.

The center currently is located in the basement of the psychology building.

The facility is continuing about 50 studies in child abuse, sexual abuse and neglect, specializing in basic and applied research in the causes and consequences of both family violence and sexual assault.

The new facility will aid in the center’s continuation of its projects. The center does not, however, provide therapy to those who fall victim to these crimes.

“We are a research center, not a treatment center,” Milner said.

The center instead contributes to these causes by compiling studies that may aid in ceasing the crimes altogether.

“We explore prevention and intervention,” Milner said.