This past week, the Villanova community received an announcement regarding the upcoming transformation and renovations to CEER (Center for Engineering Education and Research). This expansion of the building is scheduled to begin this upcoming spring and is estimated to be completed by the fall of 2024. 

The goal of this transformation is to expand the building and create a larger space for the engineering community in hopes of being able to have the entire engineering department in the same building. The discussion that began this process was held between engineering administrators, faculty, staff and students. Getting input from all different parts of the community allowed the plan for the expansion to address all areas of need.  

Those needs address and uphold the values of the engineering community, making the space a palace for hands-on learning, team building and problem solving learning. The blueprints for the future CEER building will keep it a community based space with the placement of offices and design for classrooms to allow for collaborative areas and cross-disciplinary advances.

The notice sent out to the student body included a list of highlights of the renovation which were the following:

• 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

These additions to the building will be beneficial to the engineering students and faculty, along with spaces any student on campus could take advantage of. The students in the engineering school will have new classrooms and lab spaces for more learning opportunities and have the ability to have all of the engineering offices located in the same building. 

When asked about her thoughts on the renovations, sophomore Reade Hauge said, “it’s really exciting seeing funding going into the engineering program. The future engineers that come to Villanova will have an amazing opportunity to learn and grow in a newly renovated space.”  

There are many more engineers who feel the same, and there has been a lot of positive feedback in regards to the upcoming renovation from the general community as well. There is a lot of anticipation behind this transformation, and students are very excited to see the finished product.

The CEER transformation is just one of the many efforts the University is making to better the community and advance and update the campus. More information on the expansion and more plans for the future of Villanova can be found in the email sent on the CEER expansion under the link, Rooted. Restless.