This issue of State magazine includes a report from April’s dedication of the Architecture, Mathematics and Engineering Building that will serve the needs of students and faculty across the university and enable accreditation of the growing architecture program.
The $17 million building was approved by the 2012 Legislature as part of the 10-year Higher Education Facilities Fund Plan and was placed by the South Dakota Board of Regents in the first group of construction projects from that plan. It is the first project from that list completed at this university; the Cow-Calf Education and Research Facility is under construction and the second phase of the Headhouse/Greenhouse project is moving ahead.
The Architecture, Mathematics and Engineering Building will make a difference at State.
So will other two other essential facilities in the second set of systemwide HEFF projects, namely the Performing Arts Center expansion and the Visual Arts and Design Building.
Similarly, these next projects are necessary for the accreditation of academic programs, for a stronger student experience, for recruitment of students into the performing arts and design programs, and for continued connections with constituents who appreciate the co-curricular activities and productions that will be featured in these spaces.
Current and future students are supporting these projects. HEFF capital comes from tuition, specifically 20 cents from every dollar. The Board of Regents earmarked $13 million from HEFF for the PAC expansion and $7.5 million for the Visual Arts and Design Building.
Completion of both facilities relies on the strong support of generous donors and engaged partners who share a vision of a leading land-grant university that champions the public good.
The Performing Arts Center expansion will cost about $40 million for a proscenium theater, a recital hall, music practice spaces and faculty offices. It will consolidate the functions conducted in the PAC, Lincoln Music Hall, the Pugsley Center and Doner Auditorium.
The Visual Arts and Design facility, estimated at $12.4 million, will house the new School of Design in a place created through the renovations of the Seedhouse and West Headhouse along Medary Avenue and construction to connect the two existing structures.
The School of Design, announced this spring, brings together architecture, interior design, studio art, graphic design and landscape architecture in an academic framework that shares curriculum and encourages collaboration. Architecture moves into AME this summer; its related disciplines need a new space, as well.
One goal of the IMPACT 2018 strategic plan is accreditation for all degree programs that have a recognized accrediting agency or organization. Programs in the School of Design will be candidates for accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and will carry continued industry-specific accreditations in some field. Additionally, students will finish Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Landscape Architecture degrees. These accreditations, new degree designations, pending new facilities and the organizational structure position State as unique among the region’s design programs.
These two projects continue the effort to build a better State. University leaders and development professionals from the SDSU Foundation will be presenting the cases for the Performing Arts Center expansion and the Visual Arts and Design facility over the next several months. Both projects will position the university as a champion of the arts and creative activity.
David L. Chicoine, Ph.D.
President
Class of 1969
