1-23-03
CONSTRUCTION OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT CENTER TO BEGIN IN SUMMER 2003
Construction of the new $30 million Research and Economic Development Center (REDC) at Penn State Erie is expected to begin this summer. When completed in early 2005, the center will strategically support education, research, and technology transfer activities designed to strengthen the economy of northwestern Pennsylvania.
View an artist's rendering of the REDC.
"This is a truly tranformative facility, one that is almost twenty years in the making," said Dr. Jack Burke, interim provost and dean. "It ranks among the biggest state capital investments in Erie County history, and it will be the largest of our fifty-one campus buildings."
The REDC will provide a new home for the college's School of Business and School of Engineering and Engineering Technology. The 160,000-square-foot facility will be located adjacent to Knowledge Park at Penn State Erie, a fast-growing 200-acre research and development area that is viewed as a catalyst for regional economic revitalization.
Approximately half of the REDC will be engineering labs and associated support space, one-fourth will be classrooms and computer classrooms, and one-fourth will be offices, conference rooms, and related space.
The building will serve as a physical and academic link between the campus and Knowledge Park, and it will enable the college to support future park tenants. Walkways from the REDC will carry students and faculty to Knowledge Park for internships, technology transfer projects, and faculty consultation. Collaboration with Knowledge Park is expected to expand new high-technology employment opportunities for graduates of area colleges and universities, helping to decrease the "brain drain" and attracting new scientists, engineers, and business professionals into the region.
Penn State's Board of Trustees has approved preliminary plans for the building, which will be constructed on the east side of Jordan Road on the hill above the Smith Chapel and Junker Center, the college's athletic and recreation complex. Final approval is expected in March.
Burke said the facility will help alleviate a major space shortage on campus. "We've been able to make space accommodations for most of our academic programs," he said. "We cannot do that any longer. This new building is a necessity, and it will improve the environment for our students and faculty tremendously. It will superbly enhance the college's ability to meet its mission of teaching, research, and outreach." "Much of the research conducted at Penn State Erie serves the educational and economic interests of the tri-state region," said Burke. "With the new classrooms and labs, we will be able to expand efforts in support of specific industry clusters, such as plastics, metals, foundry, and information technology. We consider the REDC a regional asset, and to that end, the college has already established more than thirty collaborative efforts with other regional institutions."
Placing business and engineering together in one location is expected to increase interaction and collaboration among faculty and students in the two schools. In December 2000, Penn State Erie received a $176,000 grant from the GE Fund of Stamford, Connecticut, to create a multidisciplinary program involving its School of Engineering and Engineering Technology and School of Business. The grant has supported the development of an integrated engineering and business curriculum, faculty development and team-teaching, and establishment of a Small Product Realization course, an incubator for new business ideas.
The REDC will create a new home for the School of Business. The new facility played a major role in making the case for accreditation by AACSB International―The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, which is the pre-eminent accreditation body for business programs.
"Because it will house programs and activities that are technologically sophisticated, the REDC design includes advanced technological features," said Dr. Robert Simoneau, director of the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology. "And we've also made it flexible so that future technological changes can be accommodated."
Weber Murphy Fox of Erie and NBBJ of Columbus, Ohio, designed the building. Its plan preserves the beauty of Penn State Erie's 725-acre campus, taking care to maintain the scale and appearance determined by the college's master plan.
Contact:
Loretta Brandon
(814) 898-6063 (O)
(814) 864-9922 (H)
e-mail: lzb6@psu.edu