With the snip of a red ribbon, Illinois State University dedicated the new home for the College of Engineering during a ceremony on Tuesday, September 8, reaching a milestone years in the making.
More than 500 guests—including Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, campus constituents, and community partners—filled the main hall and atrium of the College of Engineering’s permanent home located at Illinois State University Campus East, 1709 General Electric Road, Bloomington.
“With this ceremony, we are putting the exclamation mark on the College of Engineering at Illinois State University,” said President Aondover Tarhule. “This building represents our confidence in the future. It was intentionally designed to support the kind of learning that prepares students for success.”
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“To our students—this college was built for you,” Dr. Tarhule continued. “We cannot wait to see what you will create, discover, and achieve.”
The $59 million project resulted in a transformed space that can accommodate up to 700 students and is equipped with computer and circuit labs, classrooms, a makerspace with 3D printers, a wood and metal shop, and numerous collaboration spaces.
Campus East includes the adjoining 1711 General Electric Road building, with construction on the second half starting in early 2027 to house academic programs and offices outside the College of Engineering.
A solar array installation, which will be completed by summer 2027 on the 28-acre site, will serve as a student learning lab while supplying about 85% of the property’s energy. Future renovations will expand the college’s capacity to more than 1,200 students.
Pritzker said the University’s academic growth reflects the innovative spirit of Illinois and how supporting higher education and workforce development is fundamental to the mission of the state.
“This is a new jewel of ISU and a new jewel for the state of Illinois. ISU is the future of the state of Illinois,” Pritzker said. “This is an investment in a new generation of Redbird engineers who will build new technologies and who will design our infrastructure. They’ll improve our energy systems and solve challenges that are in front of us, and the ones that we’ve not yet encountered.”
“This is a new jewel of ISU and a new jewel for the state of Illinois.”
—Gov. JB Pritzker
Windows bordering the ceremony space gave guests a glimpse into classrooms and labs where students participated in classes and engaged in group projects. College of Engineering Dean Tom Keyser said the hands-on learning and faculty expertise creates an ideal environment for young engineers.
“Engineering is about solving people’s everyday problems and making their lives better. The College of Engineering is designed with that purpose in mind—to prepare graduates who excel technologically, who are collaborative in nature, and who are committed to improving their communities,” Dr. Keyser said.
Planning for the new college, which began in 2016, came with a degree of risk according to Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Ani Yazedjian—especially for students.
More than 160 students were part of the first College of Engineering cohort in 2025, with classes temporarily held in Williams Hall. More than 140 new engineering students making up the second cohort were welcomed to the new facility to start the 2026 fall semester. Students can major in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or general engineering.
“They chose a college with no graduates, no history, and at first, no permanent home. They took a chance on us. And we are seeing how that risk has paid off for them,” Dr. Yazedjian said. “After only their first year, some students from our inaugural cohort have already participated in internships and professional experiences with employers across the region.”
Sophomore electrical engineering student Edisson Charles is one of those students. He completed an internship over the summer at Hanson Professional Services in Springfield, working with drones and applying classroom knowledge to improve utility infrastructure.
“This new space is going to give students more opportunities to learn, work together, and get hands-on experience. After everything I’ve experienced my first year and this summer, I’m grateful to be a student at Illinois State, and I’m excited to be a part of what we’re building here,” Charles said.
Pritzker said hearing from Charles and other Redbird engineers is “the reason we are all optimistic about both ISU’s and our nation’s future.”
After the dedication ceremony, guests toured the building and interacted with student ambassadors including mechanical engineering sophomores Cayla Weygand and Isaiah Kerr.
“I love all the opportunities here, especially with research. At other universities, you would have to work with a grad student, and they’d assign you tasks. Here, we get to work directly with professors, sometimes one-on-one or in small groups,” Kerr said.
Weygand is grateful for the larger labs and state-of-the-art equipment, which she said have sped up prototype testing. Most of all, she appreciates the atmosphere in the newly renovated building.
“As the inaugural students, we get to pioneer the attitude around the college,” Weygand said. “If we were coming in after years and years of previous engineers, morale might be different. But right now, I see a lot of hope.”
