News & Events
ALL NEWS(view archives)
| Monday Ceremony to Mark the Re-Opening of SVSU’s Pioneer Hall |
| Saginaw Valley State University will hold a grand re-opening celebration of Pioneer Hall Monday, Sept. 10. Originally built in 1978, the engineering building recently underwent a $16 million renovation and addition. Events begin with a symposium titled “Pioneering Mid-Michigan’s Economic Future Through Innovation, Education and Engineering.” It begins at 9 a.m. in the Malcolm Field Theatre for Performing Arts. The keynote speaker for the symposium will be Emily Stover DeRocco, Assistant Secretary of Labor and Employment Training for the U.S. Department of Labor. She will address the importance of a having talented and skilled workforce and the collaboration needed to build a strong regional economy. Following DeRocco’s remarks, Ron Williams, the dean of SVSU’s College of Science, Engineering and Technology,will moderate a panel discussion of SVSU faculty and endowed chairs. Panelists are Brooks Byam, associate professor of mechanical engineering; David Karpovich, associate professor of chemistry; George Puia, Dow Chemical Co. Centennial Chair in Global Business; and Christopher Schilling, Strosacker Endowed Chair in Engineering. At 11:15 a.m., a grand re-opening celebration will begin outside the south entrance to Pioneer Hall. The keynote address will be given by Arnold Allemang, a senior advisor and member of the board of directors for The Dow Chemical Company. Following the ceremony, the building will be open for tours. The building features state-of-the-art electrical and mechanical engineering laboratories in disciplines such as robotics, analog and digital circuits, biomaterials, performance racing and a foundry. In addition to the labs, there are seven classrooms and three computer labs. The building is being submitted for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification. Environmentally-friendly aspects of its construction include: • water use will be reduced by 30 percent • half of all construction waste was diverted from landfills • building materials feature a high recycled content (minium 20 percent) • wood materials come from sustainable forests • support beams that have circular holes, requiring less steel yet are as structurally sound • an energy recovery system that requires less power to operate the building’s heating and cooling systems The original Pioneer Hall was nearly 45,000 square feet, all of which has been completely renovated. The expansion measures some 30,000 square feet. Funding for the project comes from the State of Michigan ($12 million) and SVSU ($4 million). |
| Contact: J.J. Boehm | jjboehm@svsu.edu |
RSS View RSS Feeds | What is RSS?