Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Kent State Breaks Ground on Aeronautics and Engineering Building Expansion

  • By Matt Jones
  • 10/06/21

Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, recently broke ground on a 44,000-square-foot expansion to its Aeronautics and Engineering Building. The new space will contain amenities like collaborative spaces, teaching and research labs and administrative space. The renovation project comes as the College of Aeronautics and Engineering’s enrollment has increased by 53.6% since 2018 and 7% since 2020.

A gift from The Timken Foundation of Canton to the tune of $1.5 million helped the university move up the timeline of the project, whose overall price tag is an estimated $19.6 million. The facility’s new, two-story atrium will be dedicated to the foundation. University administrators have also reallocated about $12 million internally to support the physical space necessary to properly train students in designing, building and operating advanced technology.

Kent State Aeronautics and Engineering Building Atrium
The rendering shows the two-story atrium of Kent State University’s Aeronautics and Engineering Building expansion.

“The successful completion of this project as part of our master plan will support Kent State’s ability to produce the highly qualified STEM graduates needed for the state’s and region’s manufacturing and engineering sectors,” said Kent State President Todd Diacon. ‘We’re very grateful that The Timken Foundation of Canton has partnered with us to enable the College of Aeronautics and Engineering to contribute eve more to the sustainability of the region’s engineering and manufacturing workforce—a vision both organizations share.”

The building’s expansion will feature a two-story atrium that will also serve as a space for members of the unmanned aircraft systems flight operations program to fly indoors. It will also include a 3,000-square-foot auditorium; Maker Alley, which will include three teaching labs (the Pattern and Fabrication Laboratory, the Maker Space and the Design and innovation Laboratory); the cyber.domain, which will consist of a Cyber Range Laboratory, esports arena and Networking and Server Laboratory; and a Simulation and Cybersecurity Laboratory.

“Kent State recognizes the importance of virtual education in this rapidly changing landscape of higher education,” said Christina Bloebaum, Ph.D., dean of Kent State’s College of Aeronautics and Engineering. “The new expansion will also incorporate the latest technology to enable synchronous delivery of virtual education. The expansion’s two new classrooms, as well as teaching laboratories, will be equipped to enable virtual delivery in a streaming, synchronous mode, which will also support the college’s efforts to create pathway opportunities with our Regional Campuses and partner organizations.”

The university officially broke ground on the project on Friday, Oct. 1, as part of its Homecoming Weekend.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Houston-Area High School Receives Best Project Award from ENR

    Tomball West High School near Houston, Texas, recently received a K–12 Education Best Project Award in Engineering News-Record’s 2026 Texas & Southeast Best Projects Awards, according to a press release. The new facility was completed in May and opened its doors to students for the fall 2026 semester.

  • Construction Begins on 100+ Acre K–12 Campus Designed for Lakota Culture

    The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) and the Cheyenne-Eagle Butte School District in Eagle Butte, S.D., recently broke ground on a new K–12 campus that will cover more than 100 acres and serve students and families across 1,600 square miles, according to a news release.

  • Cleveland High School Breaks Ground on Modernization

    Portland Public Schools in Portland, Ore., recently announced that construction has begun on a modernization project for Cleveland High School, according to a news release. The existing building will be replaced with a new, 300,000-square-foot facility at the same site.

  • University of Washington Opens New Broadcast Studio

    The University of Washington in Seattle, Wash., recently announced the opening of Sundodger Studios, a new broadcast, production, and content facility, according to a news release. The university partnered with Anthony James Partners for the design and development of the studio, which will host about 100 live broadcasts and 120 live videoboard shows per year.