Description of Request

Submitted By: Dilpreet Bajwa, Mechanical & Industrial Engineering (MIE) Department Head

The MIE department is one of the largest engineering departments on campus and has grown significantly in terms of student enrollment (graduate and undergraduate). For the last 4 years a growing number of non-tenure track faculty have been accommodated in shared office spaces (Roberts 402, 410) which are now full, with each room accommodating 4 non-tenure track faculty.
In addition, the department is facing severe space limitations for graduate students. Currently, MIE reports that several graduate students are assigned desk spaces outside faculty offices (vestibule areas) or in non-teaching rooms, which have reached their capacity. With new graduate students joining the department in the spring 2022, additional desk space is needed.
Therefore, the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering is requesting Roberts Hall Suite 313. The department is in the process of hiring a new tenure track faculty that will be starting early next year, and the proposed office space would accommodate the new tenure track faculty and up to 6 graduate students. Additionally, there is potential to accommodate another faculty member with some renovations turning 313B into an additional faculty office within the suite. The Office of Diversity and Inclusion are vacating the office suite, as they relocate into the newly constructed American Indian Hall in December 2021.

 

Resolution

Date: December 3, 2021

Space Management Committee has approved the allocation of Roberts 313 suite for use by MIE Faculty and graduate students.