Engineering students soon will have more space to work on projects because plans for a new addition to Stocker Center for Engineering are underway.
Dean of Russ College of Engineering and Technology Dennis Irwin -the driving force for this addition for the past three years -said he has raised $10 million for the new building, which will be constructed behind Stocker Center on West Green.
I have raised money through a variety of sources
both internal funds such as contributions by university departments and external funds such as private donors Irwin said.
Ohio University alumnus Charles Stuckey donated $5 million to the project during OU's Bicentennial Campaign. Stuckey graduated with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from OU in 1966 and now resides in Massachusetts, where he is a retired chairman of RSA Security Inc. and president of RSA Capital.
The 55,000-to 75,000-square foot addition will be a separate entity behind Stocker Center. The building will have a minimum of two floors, including eight classrooms and a large space for students to work on projects. Construction is set to begin March of 2006, Irwin said.
The dean is looking for a collaboration space -space where the students can all come together said John Kotowski, assistant vice president for facilities, planning and construction. The building itself is a chopped-up
small-space kind of a building.
Irwin said he plans to raise an additional $5 million as an alternative source of funding for the addition.
We are building it as a $10 million base project
but we want to make sure we have enough money to fund exactly what we're planning
he said. We have been working with Columbus-based architectural firm Burgess & Niple
Inc. to develop conceptual sketches
but they will be dramatically changed by early 2005.
Irwin said all the feedback he has received from faculty, staff and students has been positive.
We have needed this room for a long time now
said James Fales, chair of the industrial technology department. The lack of space has affected our curriculum and our research projects. This new addition will be marvelous
and it will help provide better study space for our students.
