The University’s College of Engineering is one step closer to reaching a $50 million donation goal to renovate Patrick F. Taylor Hall and begin an engineering building project, thanks to a $2 million donation announced by Chevron on Wednesday.
The University’s “Breaking New Ground” campaign supports the engineering expansion and began with a $50 million state donation and a $15 million private donation by Phyllis M. Taylor earlier in 2013. With these donations, the combined state and private funds now total near $80 million.
As donations increase, the state is now planning the process to select an architect, and a request for proposals was advertised Wednesday, said College of Engineering Dean Richard Koubek in an email. Construction and renovations are expected to begin in fall 2014.
Chevron’s contribution will help to “establish an engineering student academic support center, as well as a reservoir mechanics and rock and fluids property teaching laboratory in the Craft and Hawkins Department of Petroleum Engineering,” a University news release said.
The release also said Chevron pledged $700,000 to the College of Science to create “a materials characterization lab and update existing laboratory space.”
Chevron has a working relationship with the University to support research and student initiatives and often hires engineering graduates, Koubek said in an email.
“Our partnership with LSU is an example of Chevron’s commitment to develop and hire top-quality graduates necessary to help us meet energy demands around the world,” Warner Williams, vice president of Chevron North America Gulf of Mexico, said in a University news release. “We believe that the new space and the advanced laboratory will enable the achievement of academic excellence in petroleum engineering and countless other disciplines.”