The Gleason Building prepares now for millennium

An architect's view of the new entrance off parking lot J

Features such as a multi-use, 130-seat auditorium with Internet access, an engineering learning center and studio classrooms are only part of the changes planned for the James E. Gleason Building. The $13-million project will transform every corner of the 30-year-old building. Plans include an addition on the southwest corner that will accommodate software engineering on the ground floor and an auditorium on the level above. The north entrance off parking lot J will be upgraded and that area will include a commemoration to Kate Gleason. Downstairs, the doors from the academic quad will open into an informal gathering space called the Erdle Commons.

"The renovations will allow us to enter a new era of engineering learning," says Paul Petersen, dean of the Kate Gleason College of Engineering.

During the 1999 school year, construction workers, faculty and students will share the building, as the renovation continues. The project will be finished in fall 2000.