The Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University held a groundbreaking ceremony Nov. 14 for the Engineering Education Complex (EEC), a $168 million facility to support the college's 25 by 25 initiative.
Speakers at the event included: Former student, Astronaut Michael E. Fossum ’80, Texas A&M Student Body President Kyle Kelly ’14 and future student, Chase McEachern ’19, while remarks were made by Chairman of The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents Phil Adams, Chancellor John Sharp, and Vice Chancellor and Dean of Engineering Dr. M. Katherine Banks.
Also in attendance were the pioneer donors, current and former students who have contributed $50 million to start construction. This included the Student Engineers Council, SuSu and Mark Fischer ’72, and Amy and Tim Leach ’82.
The Zachry Engineering Center, which was dedicated in 1972, is being completely renovated and expanded to become the EEC. Construction will begin February 2015 and is expected to be complete December 2016. When completed, the EEC will be the largest academic building on the Texas A&M campus and serve as the heart of undergraduate engineering education at Texas A&M when classes resume in the building in the spring of 2018.
The EEC will provide a modern, comfortable and flexible learning environment, as well as a place for students to congregate and work together on projects. The facility is a key component of the college’s efforts to transform engineering education to better prepare today’s students to solve world problems through more experiential learning.
The Dwight Look College of Engineering is the largest college on the Texas A&M campus with more than 14,000 students and 500 faculty members in 13 departments. The college is consistently ranked among the nation’s top undergraduate and graduate engineering programs according to U.S. News & World Report.