A “topping off” ceremony – placement of the final steel beam – for the new Integrated Science and Engineering Complex will be held Wednesday, Dec. 13, at 12:30 p.m. on Alexander Lane.
This traditional building custom – which features a fir tree and an American flag perched on the final beam – is meant to symbolize growth and good luck.
The $100 million project, the most ambitious and largest in the school’s history, will be completed in phases over the next two years. This includes an addition completed for fall term 2018 and renovation of three sections of the existing S&E Center by fall 2019.
In keeping with tradition, members of the Union community were invited to sign the beam beforehand.
Speakers at the ceremony will include President Stephen C. Ainlay; Strom Thacker, the Stephen J. and Diane K. Ciesinski Dean of Faculty and Vice President for Academic Affairs; a student leader; and a representative of Turner Construction, chief contractor for the project.
Refreshments will be served.
Built during the late 1960s and dedicated in 1971, the Science and Engineering Center has been instrumental in educating generations of students in biology, chemistry, physics and astronomy, and computer, electrical and mechanical engineering.