Add as a preferred source on Google

USU to Construct New Building for Language Programs

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/12/21

The Utah State Legislature recently approved the construction of a new home for Utah State University’s foreign language programs. The $17-million Mehdi Heravi Global Teaching and Learning Center will house all of the university’s language-based programs under one roof.

The Legislature approved $14.5 million in state funds for construction of the new facility. An additional $2.5 million will come from private donors, including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Legislature had already approved the project in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic effected budget cuts.

Though all the university’s foreign language classes fall under the umbrella of the Department of Languages, Philosophy, and Communications Studies, they’re spread across four different buildings. “The Mehdi Heravi Global Teaching and Learning Center will bring together in one location all language-focused programs in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences,” said Joseph P. Ward, Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

Ward estimates that about 2,200 students enroll in lower-division foreign language classes each year. Amenities in the new building will include conversation, teaching, and computer writing labs; and centralized spaces for student advising, studying, and tutoring. It will also contain the university’s Intensive English Language Institute.

The new facility is named after USU alumnus Mehdi Heravi, an Iranian-born teacher, scholar, philanthropist, and author. Heravi has established multiple scholarships at the university.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • classroom with crystal ball on top of a desk

    Call for Opinions: Spaces4Learning 2026 Predictions for Educational Facilities

    As 2025 winds to a close, the Spaces4Learning staff is asking its readers—school administrators, architects, engineers, facilities managers, builders, superintendents, designers, vendors, and more—to send us their predictions for educational facilities in 2026.

  • University of Southern Mississippi Starts Construction on Oyster Hatchery

    The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) recently announced that construction has begun on a new oyster hatchery at its Gulf Coast Research Laboratory (GCRL) Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center (TCMAC) Cedar Point campus in Ocean Springs, Miss., according to a news release.

  • Three U.S. Universities Install Acre Security Access Control Platform

    Cloud-native physical and digital security solutions company Acre Security recently announced that it has deployed its access control platform at three major universities in the U.S., according to a news release. Acre partnered with Atrium Campus to provide coverage for more than 69,000 students at the University of Virginia (UVA), George Mason University, and Rockhurst University.

  • Texas K–12 District to Build New Elementary, High Schools

    The High Island Independent School District on the Bolivar Peninsula in Southeast Texas recently announced that construction on a new elementary school and a new high school will begin in January 2026, according to local news. Funding will come from a $27.9-million bond passed in May 2025.

Digital Edition