GROWING ROOM
Engineering Design Building offers new spaces for learning and collaboration. BY PAULA PRICE TANNER
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n the outside, the long metal building looks like a well-kept warehouse, with attractive shrubs and ornamental trees planted near its entrance. But the smattering of cars parked nearby and a steady stream of students going in and out indicate this is more than a quiet storage facility. Something is going on here. A step through the entrance doors reveals a complex of areas that are buzzing with activity. Large glass windows between rooms and along the central hallway make it possible to see students engaged in all aspects of their studies, from listening to lectures and working in small groups to using computer modeling
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programs to design and test engineering solutions. This is UMHB’s Engineering Design Building—a newly repurposed facility designed to provide growing space for the university’s burgeoning engineering program. Engineering is a relatively recent addition to the university’s degree offerings. In 2010, UMHB entered into an articulation agreement with Baylor University to offer core curriculum and pre-engineering courses that would prepare UMHB students to complete degrees in electrical or mechanical engineering at Baylor. Response to the pilot program was good, and administrators soon realized that there was a high demand
