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Office of the President

Center for Engineering Education and Research Expansion

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October 18, 2021

Dear Members of the Villanova Community,

I am pleased to share that the Villanova University Board of Trustees has formally approved plans for a 150,000 square-foot addition to the Center for Engineering Education and Research (CEER), which will more than double its current size. This significant expansion, scheduled to begin in Spring 2022, will dramatically transform the existing Center and fittingly bring together the entire Villanova engineering community under one roof.

The CEER expansion addresses current needs in the College of Engineering and positions it well for continued success as a premier destination for hands-on, problem-oriented and team-based learning. The ambitious renovation, scheduled to be completed by Fall 2024, is the result of a collaborative process involving input from engineering administrators, faculty and students. Every aspect of the project—from the placement of faculty offices to lab configuration and gathering spaces—is designed to foster connections and facilitate collaborative discovery and cross-disciplinary advances. A few highlights of the renovation include:

  • a 63% increase in overall teaching and research lab space, including 11 interdisciplinary research clusters grouped by theme
  • state-of-the-art, flexible instruction spaces able to accommodate various class formats, such as small discussions, labs, project-based learning and large lectures
  • significant increases and improvements to office and computing space for doctoral and master’s students
  • a community space in the heart of the building for all Villanovans to gather, study and learn.

The CEER expansion is one example of Villanova’s ongoing efforts to modernize and upgrade our academic facilities, as outlined in our Strategic Plan Rooted. Restless., in order to better support Villanova’s growth in national stature and research output. The transformation of CEER not only advances the Strategic Plan initiative addressing academic spaces, but also the initiatives related to research, teaching and learning. The CEER expansion adds teaching labs, research labs and study space on campus—Villanova’s greatest needs—and co-locates the College of Engineering into one main building, making others available for future projects.

This is more wonderful news for our University community, and hopefully the first in a number of academic spaces that will be transformed over the next decade. I will continue to share updates with you as we move through the CEER expansion project—from groundbreaking all the way through the opening.

Finally, I offer my sincerest appreciation to everyone involved in the project to this point and all those who will be involved over the next several years. Thank you for your efforts, in the words of St. Augustine, towards helping Villanova “become what it is not yet.”

 

Sincerely, 

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Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA
President