College of Engineering Officially Opens New Facility, Largest Academic Building in Louisiana
BATON ROUGE 鈥� Five years to the day that Phyllis M. Taylor announced she was making a $15 million gift to honor the legacy of her late
husband, Patrick F. Taylor, and help kickstart the Breaking New Ground campaign to
renovate and expand the building that bears his name, the 海角社区 College of Engineering
celebrated the grand opening of the new Patrick F. Taylor Hall today with a ribbon-cutting
ceremony, followed by building tours and engineering student demonstrations.
The facility now measures more than 400,000 square feet and is the largest academic building in Louisiana and one of the largest freestanding engineering academic buildings in the United States. It was designed by the architectural firms Perkins+Will and Coleman Partners and was constructed by The Lemoine Company.
It includes a 110,000-square-foot chemical engineering building addition; state-of-the-art labs and gathering spaces like the driving simulation lab and Commons area; the William Brookshire Student Services Suite; the 250-seat RoyOMartin Auditorium; and the MMR Building Information Modeling (BIM) Lab, where students utilize virtual reality to analyze construction projects, make site assessments, etc.
鈥淭he resources we provide help ensure that, not only do our students receive the best engineering education possible, but that we prepare them for life after graduation and in the workforce,鈥� said Judy Wornat, dean of the College of Engineering. 鈥淚 cannot wait to see how our students make the most of everything we have to offer.鈥�
鈥淭his is an exciting day for our engineering students, faculty, staff, and alumni and for 海角社区 as a whole,鈥� said 海角社区 President F. King Alexander. 鈥淚 believe it shows the investment that we as a university and the state of Louisiana have made in our students and their future success, and it demonstrates 海角社区鈥檚 ongoing commitment to solving the biggest challenges facing our state, many of which can be solved through the education and research taking place in Patrick F. Taylor Hall."
Indeed, as part of the Breaking New Ground campaign, $114 million was raised 鈥� $57 million from private contributions and a matching $57 million from the state. It is one of the largest public-private partnerships in Louisiana and the most successful fundraising effort by 海角社区 to date.
鈥淭his success would not have been possible without the vision, the passion, the leadership and the persistence of our committee co-chairs, Phyllis Taylor and Harry Longwell, and that of Ron Cambre,鈥� said 海角社区 Executive Vice President and Provost Rick Koubek. 鈥淭heir enthusiasm and energy, along with the other steering committee members and our donors, were resolute.鈥�
About Patrick F. Taylor
In 2007, 海角社区 formally named the Center for Engineering and Business Administration
(CEBA) building in honor of Taylor, a 1959 petroleum engineering alumnus. He believed
that everyone deserved the opportunity to earn a college degree, regardless of his
or her economic means. Consequently, he was responsible for the creation of the Taylor
Opportunity Program for Students, better known as TOPS.
Patrick F. Taylor Hall By the Numbers
$114 million 鈥� Total Cost of Project
410,000 鈥� Total Square Feet of Patrick F. Taylor Hall
300,000 鈥� Total Square Feet of Renovated Section
110,000 鈥� Total Square Feet of Chemical Engineering Building Addition
134,989 鈥� Square Feet of Teaching and Laboratory Space
41,202 鈥� Square Feet of Student Collaboration Space
1,576 鈥� Classroom Seats
272 鈥� Faculty and Staff Offices
250 鈥� Seats in Largest Classroom, the RoyOMartin Auditorium
3 鈥� Years to Complete
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Contact: Joshua Duplechain
Director of Communications
225-578-5706 (o)
josh@lsu.edu