MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Led by Middle Tennessee State University President Sidney A. McPhee, Engineering Technology Chair Ken Currie and alumnus Donald McDonald, the university held a final beam signing and topping out ceremony Wednesday, May 1, for the new Applied Engineering Building on the southeast side of campus.

Construction is moving along with the new $74.8 million, 90,000-square-foot facility, scheduled to open by the start of the fall 2025 academic semester.

“This will be another state-of-the-art facility that puts the finishing touches on our Science Corridor of Innovation that began a decade ago with the opening of our wonderful Science Building,” McPhee said. “We are committed to providing our students with the latest, cutting-edge technology and resources to ensure they’re well prepared for the in-demand jobs this facility will train them to do.”

MTSU faculty, administrators and staff were joined at the brief ceremony by alumni, friends and supporters, including Nissan North America and Automation Nth. Nissan Lead Quality Engineer Tony Lee, alumnus and chair of the Engineering Technology Advisory Board, and Mark Kennedy, an adjunct faculty member who has worked 25 years with Oracle, were among those present.

“I told Dr. McPhee that every time we have faculty meetings and meet with students, we say, ‘This will all get better with the new building,’” said Currie, a reference to the current Voorhees Engineering Technology Building on the west side of campus. “We’ve got a lot of new technology we’re starting to buy. We can’t wait.”

McDonald and his wife, Frances McDonald, have donated $1 million toward the atrium to be named the Donald and Frances McDonald Atrium. They also are major donors for the MTSU Aerospace Department, which features the Donald McDonald Hangar at MTSU’s Flight Operations Center at Murfreesboro Airport. 

The Applied Engineering Building will be the home to the renowned Mechatronics Engineering program and other Engineering Technology concentrations, providing students with the space, equipment and education to prepare for ever-changing careers. 

The Applied Engineering Building will sit next to the School of Concrete and Construction Management Building, a $40.1 million, 54,000-square-foot facility that opened in fall 2022 and serves as an integrated and experiential learning laboratory.

Both are part of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, whose dean, Greg Van Patten, attended the event.

Denark Construction of Knoxville, Tennessee, is building the facility. Wold Architects & Engineers of Brentwood, Tennessee, designed the structure.

To learn more about MTSU Engineering Technology, call 615-898-2776 or visit https://w1.mtsu.edu/et/index.php.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)