Gift to fund state-of-the-art classroom in Centre for Engineering Innovation

The University of Windsor will recognize a $500,000 donation from the Windsor Family Credit Union (WFCU) towards the new Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation with the naming of a state-of-the-art classroom in the building.

“We believe in the future of the University of Windsor and the economic and educational benefits that it provides to our community and beyond,” said WFCU’s president, Martin Komsa. “This is a very significant contribution for the credit union and one that we feel will have long lasting positive effects.”

The new WFCU Learning Theatre seats 120 and is outfitted with the latest in audio and visual technology. The room has a semicircular shape with a “thrust” design that brings the presenter into closer contact with the audience in the centre of the room. Located near the main entrance to the building, it is one of three larger classrooms in the new facility that will also be used by various faculties for conferences and other special events.

UWindsor president Alan Wildeman said the University is truly grateful for the gift.

“In contributing to this new facility, WFCU continues its tradition of supporting those things that make a difference to our community,” he said. “Right from its conception, our new building has been designed to be an exceptional centre for education and innovation, and one that will contribute to the future of our region and our country.”

The CEI, which will open to students on Monday, September 17, will elevate UWindsor’s teaching and learning experience to a level of technical sophistication that rivals any post-secondary institution in Canada. Students will experience the new facility for the fist time on Monday, September 17, when teaching begins in the research laboratory spaces. Lecture-style classes will begin on September 24. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for the spring of 2013.

The new $112 million home for the Faculty of Engineering spans 300,000 square feet and offers state-of-the-art classrooms, dynamic research laboratories and collaborative spaces to give students real-world experience in the various disciplines of engineering, including the emerging fields of environmental sustainability, alternative energy, nanostructures, lightweight materials and more efficient manufacturing systems.

Constructed to meet the highest environmental standards, the CEI features a green roof, water recycling, low-energy heating and other sustainability systems. As a learning opportunity throughout the facility, students will be able to access monitoring points that measure the building’s electrical, mechanical, civil and environmental engineering systems at work.

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