LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- University of Louisville President Kim Schatzel wants to grow the school about 30%, to 30,000 students.
One piece of that long-term vision is about to rise from the empty dirt behind U of L’s JB Speed School of Engineering.
A four-story, 114,000-square-foot building will serve as a modern hub for engineering research and academics — the first in a multi-phase expansion of the school’s engineering campus over the next two decades, U of L officials said.
U of L Engineering Dean Emmanuel Collins the new space will help his college add about 600 students to its current 2,700 over 3-5 years.
“When (students) see the new building, what they’re gonna see is a building that empowers them to engage in … hands-on learning, collaborative projects and also research experiences,” Collins said Monday. “It’s going to help us to recruit; it’s going to also help us to retain the students that come here.”
The university held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the $90 million project on Monday, though construction on the site near Eastern Parkway and Brook Street began last fall.
The yet-to-be named building will include classrooms, a “makerspace” for students and professors to tinker with inventions, research labs and student services such as advising.
Emmanuel Collins, dean of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville, during an event to mark construction of a new engineering building on Feb. 26, 2024. By Chris Otts, WDRB News
Collins said it will provide engineering students a single place to congregate for studying and socializing.
U of L’s Conn Center for Renewable Energy Research will consolidate from several spaces around campus into the new building. The center explores technology such as electric vehicle batteries.
Schatzel said the building will provide an economic benefit to Kentucky, a state that punches above its weight in manufacturing.
“The grads that are going to be coming out of this building, they’re going to build roads, build bridges, design biomedical devices to save lives; (they’re) going to be able to code and invent machines that are going to change the world,” she said. “…They’re gonna stay here and they’re gonna be able to create jobs and be able to fill the jobs of technology companies.”
Kentucky allocated $65 million for the building in the state’s previous two-year budget, with U of L funding the rest through its own debt and fundraising.
The university needs authorization in the upcoming state budget, which is currently under negotiation in Frankfort, to borrow $15 million for the project through bonds.
“We are going to keep pushing and working with lawmakers to secure this crucial investment,” Gov. Andy Beshear said following the Monday event.
