Engineering students at the University are outraged with the scheduling of classes in Patrick F. Taylor Hall, a building built for engineering students and heavily funded by donations from alumni from the College of Engineering. The building was funded by public and private donations, and this 10-year project started in 2007.  

The initial donation of this building was made by Phyllis Taylor, wife of Patrick Taylor after whom the building was named. Phyllis gifted $15 million for the initial construction of PFT Hall. Patrick was a petroleum engineer major who graduated from the University in 1959. He is also responsible for the creation of the TOPS program which is still operating today.

The renovations of the facility began in 2014 and finished at the end of the fall semester in 2017. This project was one of the biggest renovations and most innovative buildings the University has ever seen. The support of the alumni from the College of Engineering made this project possible, as well as successful. Ultimately, “LSU was able to raise $114 million — one of the largest public-private partnerships in the state and the most successful fundraising effort by LSU to date.”

The construction of this building was centered around engineering students: building state-of-the-art labs for high-level skill, building an annex to broaden the chemical engineering program, building a Leadership Incubator to house clubs providing leadership opportunities to engineering students and a center giving access to 3D scanners, printers and computers for use by engineering students.

The University is not utilizing this resource for the engineering students, infuriating the students the building was intended for. “Out of all of my engineering classes, only one is in PFT. Also at the time I have a class in a different building, there’s a ComD class in PFT,” environmental engineering senior Emily Franklin said.

The University scheduled a communication disorder class in PFT on Tuesdays and Thursdays rather than placing Franklin’s hydrology class in this classroom. Communication disorders majors have classes in Hatcher Hall, which is currently being renovated. Rather than using a general building for this class, the University scheduled them in a building funded by engineering alumnus and private contributors for the scholarship of engineering majors.

Engineering classes should be the only classes scheduled in PFT. The men and women who donated significant amounts of money to this program should be respected by the University by appreciating their intentions. The University’s scheduling of classes for majors outside of the College of Engineering is disrespectful to engineering students, the private and public donors to the construction and renovation, and to Patrick F. Taylor himself.

Britany Diefenderfer is a 20-year old English literature junior from Thibodaux, Louisiana.