This summer has marked the one year anniversary since Baker Hall, the building Bradley business students called home, was torn down to build a complex more advanced and convenient for both engineering and business majors.
According to Lex Akers, the dean of the Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technology, the construction of the main part of the building will be completed and open for classes by the fall semester of 2019.
Following this, Jobst Hall will be torn down and the final phase will take place, with all phases being completed by January 2021. There have been no unexpected challenges and everything has been on schedule, according to Akers.
“I am very excited and can’t wait to start classes in the new complex,” Salim Laribi, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, said.
With a variety of theme labs allowing professors to bring students of multiple groups and disciplines together, this 270,000-square-foot complex will allow its users to take their learning one step further. The building will bring Bradley business and engineering into the 21st century since there will be more labs than classrooms seating for flexible learning spaces will provide students the ability to collaborate and move around as they wish.
“Students will gain real-world experience by working together and practicing applied learning skills”, Renee Charles, the university spokesperson and executive director of public relations, said.
When asked about the budget requirements of the construction, Charles mentioned that everything is going as planned and the cost is well under the budget.
Whether it’s one of the most creative ideas to bring two departments together or just the beginning of many significant academic innovations, the engineering and business majors are in for a whole new educational experience.
The new layout of the building has been created in such a way that both the departments won’t be segregated into spaces like they were at the previous halls, but instead will result in faculty of both fields being intertwined with each other and their respective student spaces.
The Business and Engineering Complex will produce an educated workforce that has been forged in a rigorous multi-disciplinary hands-on academic experience that the modern world demands. It will also involve significant cross-functional interaction and foster a collaborative team-oriented mentality.
This new building will also allow the students to tear down silos among labs and disciplines.
Yohannes Fisseha, a sophomore civil engineering major student, mentioned that he noticed how quickly the construction had been taking place over the course of a few months.
The facility’s curb appeal will enhance the Main Street corridor, enriching the livability in the surrounding neighborhoods and paving the way for additional community revitalization. This cutting-edge center will draw attention to our community and elevate the status of our region as an innovator in education.
This story is part of the Scout 2018 summer special issue. Read the full summer issue.
