University of Northern Iowa cuts ribbon on new applied engineering building
University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook gives remarks during a ribbon cutting ceremony for the university's new applied engineering building on March 28, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Mary Braun)
Surrounded by students, faculty and staff, University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook told a crowd Friday they weren't gathered merely to celebrate a building, but to honor what it will bring to those who use it.
The university's renovated and expanded applied engineering building, which opened Friday with a ribbon cutting ceremony, will offer cutting-edge lab and learning spaces and hands-on learning opportunities, Nook said. He said it will help students be prepared to fill critical roles in the state and country's workforce.
'We didn't build a building to have a pretty building,' Nook said. 'We built a building to be able to help these young people, through the faculty and staff that you see up here, reach their educational goals, start them on their ways to meeting their professional goals, and help them understand how to build lives of purpose in their personal lives.'
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The building renovation project, which came with a $44.7 million price tag, began just over a decade ago, Nook said, when UNI Facilities Management identified the need to renovate the building, which is now almost 50 years old. State appropriations totaling $40 million helped fund the facility, alongside $3 million in private donations.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a video played during the ceremony the renovations eliminated $10 million in deferred maintenance as well as providing necessary facilities for students to train for high-need jobs under the expertise and programming developed by the university and its industry partners.
With a job placement rate of 95% overall and 85% in Iowa, Reynolds said with the opening, UNI will be able to accommodate demand that has increased enrollment by 20%. It also will address changing needs from the engineering and construction industries, she said.
Reynolds said the new facility will create a 'significant talent pipeline to these critical sectors,' and she can't wait to see what the next 50 years has in store for UNI's applied engineering programs.
'It goes to show what's possible when the state and our outstanding regents universities work together on the most important issues facing Iowa,' Reynolds said.
Students gathered outside of the ceremony to protest Reynolds, holding signs supporting transgender people and calling for an end to attacks on education.
Originally 60,000 square feet, the renovations modernized the existing building and added 40,000 more square feet of new lab and collaborative spaces for programs in applied engineering, construction management and more, according to a news release.
Jim Kiesey, vice president of Estes Construction as well as a UNI alum and chair of the Construction Management Advisory Board, said during the ceremony the new facility 'cements UNI's legacy in applied engineering and construction management,' but goes beyond just the renovated building's footprint on campus.
Through the legacy UNI is forging, Kiesey said the university is providing an education to future, competent leaders, helping them grow and learn how to advocate for themselves in their industry. The new spaces have also brought an energy fit to inspire the people in it.
'Prior to embarking on this rehabilitation, the 50-year old Applied Engineering Building received its AARP card in the mail, and through the efforts by many, this facility now has a youthful personality and energy that matches and serves the students that reside in this facility,' Kiesey said.
John Deere vice president and factory manager Fabio Castro said during the ceremony the long partnership between John Deere and UNI has 'yielded a bountiful harvest,' with the corporation employing more than 1,200 UNI alumni and 90 part-time students. Deere also helps UNI through providing guidance on academic programs, Castro said, ensuring the curriculum will adequately prepare students for the field.
He said the company and university share many values, like integrity and commitment to excellence, and the pursuit of excellence both organizations push for is evident in the new facility.
'Not only does this physical building monumentalize that ambition, but the individuals whose educations, careers and lives will be impacted here carry on that legacy, that drive, that value of never settling,' Castro said. 'I hope they will be inculcated with the burning passion to fight off complacency and move our world forward through the application of innovative solutions to our most complex problems. It is clear that our future workforce will need these critical skills to navigate the turbulent, unpredictable and somewhat novel challenges of our future.'
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