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RECOMMENDED ACTION OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Approve SDSM&T’s Preliminary Facility Statement to construct a Student Innovation

Center on campus. Approval will allow SDSM&T to move forward with its Facility Program Plan. Funding for this project will come from private donations through a SDSM&T fundraising campaign. If approved, the Board President should appoint a Building Committee representative to this project. When the funding is available, the project will need legislative approval to move forward to construction.

SOUTH DAKOTA BOARD OF REGENTS

Committee on Budget and Finance

AGENDA ITEM: III – C

DATE: Jun 11-12, 2014

****************************************************************************** SUBJECT: SDSM&T Student Innovation Center – Preliminary Facility Statement South Dakota School of Mines & Technology requests approval of its Preliminary Facility Statement to construct a new Student Innovation Center. This building will support the university’s mission in preparing engineering and science leaders through project based learning experiences. In 2000, facilities were added to support this type of hands-on experience with the addition of the 3,600 square foot Caterpillar Lab in the Civil and Mechanical Engineering Building. The Center for Advanced Manufacturing and Production (CAMP) has grown from 40 students to 350 students in 2014. In order to address this need, flexible space is needed that allows students to work collaboratively on planning and execution of their projects. The current environment has been dispersion of engineering design activities in multiple locations across campus and in Rapid City. The proposed location of this facility will be on the west end of the SDSM&T campus. The building will be designed and sited to showcase the state-of-the-art engineering and science education facility. During the preliminary design phase, a suitable location will be determined. Funding for this project will come from private donations through a SDSM&T fundraising campaign. Currently, SDSM&T is utilizing a Foundation commitment for the development of the Facility Program Plan. A copy of this commitment letter is attached. Additional details of the project can be found in SDSM&T’s attached Preliminary Facility Statement.

ATTACHMENT I 2

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

Preliminary Facility Statement

Student Innovation Center .

1. General programmatic needs to be addressed

Our general programmatic goal for this facility is to support the university’s mission to prepare

leaders in engineering and science through project based learning experiences in a team-oriented

environment.

Multi-disciplinary design projects are both an accreditation requirement and a mainstay of

current best practices in engineering education.

This project based approach, whether through capstone senior design projects, competitive

engineering teams, or departmental engineering projects is a signature learning experience at

Mines and is one of the reasons our students are so highly sought after by industry.

Facilities were added in 2000 to support this hands-on experience through the addition of the

3600 square foot Caterpillar Lab in the Civil and Mechanical Engineering building. The Center

for Advanced Manufacturing and Production, CAMP, housed in the Caterpillar lab has grown

from 40 students in 1997 to 350 students in 2014.

In addition to CAMP, there has been a significant growth in project-based learning and

interdisciplinary teaming in all Departments as part of Mines’ commitment to excellence in

engineering education. There are over 60 student projects annually that involve nearly 500

students. In addition to curricular and capstone design projects, there are a number of co-

curricular programs that require project space.

Addressing this need, demands flexible space that allows students to work collaboratively on

planning and executing their projects. The area needs to be easily reconfigurable with space

allocated to tools and equipment and with at least one classroom. In the current environment, too

many students are forced to find space wherever they can, from a garage somewhere in Rapid

City to space at the Business Development Center.

2. Analysis of the student body or constituents to be served

The Student Innovation Center has the capability to serve both undergraduate and graduate

students across all disciplines with their faculty advisors. There are currently 14 programs

(including centers) actively engaged in senior design and CAMP, involving approximately 350

CAMP students. There are 150 senior design students working on over 60 different projects

annually.

There are underclassmen projects and teams that have need of open, flexible, and accessible

project workspaces. In many engineering programs, students are working on design projects

ATTACHMENT II 3

SDSM&T Student Innovation Center Preliminary Facility Statement

May 2014

Page 2

from the freshman through to the senior year. Of the 270 graduate students on campus, 10-15%

currently have intermittent need of workspace for their projects and access to advanced

manufacturing tools and equipment.

3. Additional services to be offered

The following project components are being considered.

Student work areas

Large open, flexible project activity space with mobile furnishings to readily change for

both program requirements and new needs. This space will have a high ceiling (~16 ft) to

allow for taller process equipment if needed, and large access doors to enable necessary

equipment and projects to move in/out.

A machine shop

A wood shop

An electronics shop

A chemical/plastic processing room

Storage areas

Possibly a composite and polymer engineering area

Ready access to utilities for process line set-ups and operation, with draw-down supply

hoses and electrical cables over workplace tables.

Drop-in conference/collaboration areas for teams to exchange ideas and determine action

plans

A large classroom for presentations and classroom activities.

4. Compliance with the master plan

The preliminary facility design phase will consider several potential locations aligned with the

master plan. The plan shows potential growth areas on the west end of the campus in close

proximity to the student living areas.

5. Analysis of needs assessment based on the facilities utilization report

The capacity of the 3600 square foot Caterpillar lab used by 14 competitive engineering teams

has been exceeded just for their use alone. The result has been dispersion of engineering design

activities in multiple locations across campus and in Rapid City. Based upon experience in the

Caterpillar lab, there will be a need to offer after-hour, controlled-access to the facility.

6. Location

The building will likely be on the west end of campus, in proximity to residence halls for

students. The building will be designed and sited to showcase this state-of-the-art engineering

and science education facility. The Preliminary facility design phase will consider suitable

locations. The locations that are being considered are on the west side of the campus.

ATTACHMENT II 4

SDSM&T Student Innovation Center Preliminary Facility Statement

May 2014

Page 3

Confirmation of the building’s footprint and support parking as well as soil stability will be

factors in this determination.

7. Reallocation of old space, if any

It is anticipated that the current Caterpillar lab as well as some project space/rooms in the

Electrical Engineering/Physics building and McLaury building will be reallocated. The building

may also result in reallocation of space in the machine shop and possibly the current off-campus

composites laboratory, and possibly components of the off-campus industrial engineering space.

As designs develop, re-assignment of existing space used for student projects will be considered

to optimize building functionality and utilization.

8. Proposed funding source/sources

The primary funding source would be through private fundraising. Approval of the Preliminary

Facility Statement is requested so that design concepts, schematics and location assessment can

be done to present to potential donors.

9. Budget for development of a Facility Program Plan

Private funding through the SDSM&T Foundation will be used for the development of the

Facility Program Plan. The approximate total amount of $150,000 will be used in phases, with

initial expenditures minimized to support schematics and design concepts to enable development

activities.

ATTACHMENT II 5