Policymakers, administrators and students of Illinois State University attended a dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting yesterday celebrating the official launch of ISU’s new College of Engineering facility — but for many, the campus on G.E. Road in Bloomington is already starting to feel broken in.
Sophomore electrical engineering student Eddison Charles was among several students who attended Tuesday's ribbon cutting, but many others also attended classes which continued uninterrupted by the event, hosted in the main atrium of the building.
Charles said he already got hands-on experience in the field as an intern at an engineering consulting firm in Springfield.
“I worked with drones, sensors, panoramic images, CAD, 3D analysis, and a lot of real projects that were kind of started in the classroom here,” he said. “Being able to see that side of engineering made a lot of what I was learning in our labs make a lot more sense. It showed me that all the work we're putting in now really does have a purpose in the future.”
Charles was among a group of speakers that included ISU President Aondover Tarhule and Provost Ani Yazedjian, dean of the college Tom Keyser and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.
President Tarhule noted the long process the idea of an engineering college took from inception to completion and the work it took from many people to make it happen.
“To our students, this college was built for you. We cannot wait to see what you will create, discover, and achieve,” said Tarhule. “I look forward with great anticipation to the remarkable accomplishments that will begin here.”
Pritzker spoke about how the engineering students at ISU will help build infrastructure, manufacturing and problem-solving across the state.
“If we want an Illinois that remains a hub of innovation and positive change, then we have to keep supporting the people who do that work,” said Pritzker. “Higher education and workforce development are fundamental to that mission.”
Students find their footing
The new building will hold up to 700 students comfortably before the college may need to expand further. Students said it is a big improvement over Williams Hall, the on-campus building that housed the 168 students of the freshman class while the school awaited the opening of the new building.
“It was definitely a good starting point, but there were a lot of limitations which came with that,” said Claudia Godowski, a sophomore studying general engineering.
Godowski said she was pleased in particular with how the new building provided the opportunity for students to work in a makerspace and have enough classrooms to be able to dedicate each one to specific niches. For example, circuits [studying how to give electrical charge to electronics] and statics [analysis of forces as they work on objects that are in equilibrium, a study that can be applied to architectural or structural engineering].
“I think that that's a significant improvement compared to last year,” said Godowski.
The two-story building features a mostly lab-focused first floor, with space for mechanical engineering and first year engineering studies. The second floor is where the dean suite, electrical engineering and more classrooms are. Classrooms range from 30- and 50-student rooms for more focused studies, up to 125-student spaces.
Godowski chose Illinois State’s new College of Engineering because she wanted to pursue a career in STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics]. While she is currently studying the field more in general within her major, she said the electrical and mechanical engineering side is what she is most excited about.
“I'm really a fan of just seeing how circuiting works in large-scale buildings, so I'm looking forward to doing that,” said Godowski. “It's kind of like a future career of mine.”
Charles said the College of Engineering agreement with Connect Transit that secured a bus heading both to and from the new building from campus is working as planned.
“I feel like it's real convenient, and I love the options. Like I get on the bus, I chat with all my engineering friends — I leave on the bus, all my engineering friends,” said Charles.
Charles said, anecdotally, he thinks the bus comes more often in 12-15 minute intervals than the expected 20. He said he can reliably make it to the building on time for class from Watterson Towers.
