In Its Fourth Year, The College of Engineering is Moving to Its New Downtown Home

Coming out of high school, R.J. Sutliff’s college choice checklist might have looked something like this:

1. Does the university have an engineering program?
2. Will I be treated as a person or a number?
3. Will I have access to professionals in the field that will help guide my career?
4. Will the university feel less like a campus and more like a home?

Anderson University checked all four boxes. Well, kind of. That fourth quality? The answer is a bit complicated. That’s because when Sutliff enrolled at AU in the fall of 2022, the University’s new College of Engineering didn’t have a building all its own. But now, he is one of about 200 engineering students who will learn, study, experiment, network and build inside Anderson University’s first academic facility dedicated solely to engineering. The College of Engineering has a home.

Going all the way back to 1911, Anderson University’s roots are in the liberal arts. That’s not surprising; it’s how the story of higher education began. The whole of human inquiry started with history, literature, writing, philosophy. It’s one of the reasons humanity flourished.

And it’s still the core of the educational experience AU provides, said Provost Ryan Neal. Indeed, even as institutions across the country are deemphasizing the humanities, Anderson University places them at the foundation of all its degree programs, because even if you are a nurse or biomedical engineer, the liberal arts makes you a better professional, a critically-thinking problem solver, and a more well-rounded person. Known for innovation, Dr. Neal said AU’s development of a College of Engineering was essential to AU’s development into a leading comprehensive university.

A focus on the STEM field–science, technology, engineering, math–isn’t just a necessary development for Anderson University. It’s a necessary development for a rapidly changing world.

“We’ve expanded our approach, and have been doing so for quite some time,” Dr. Neal said. “We’re a comprehensive university that was founded in the liberal arts but it is increasingly leaning into professional programs and partnerships with industry. The College of Engineering is a major part of that.”

That’s why, starting a decade ago, President Whitaker, the Anderson University Board of Trust and the Senior Leadership Team started looking more closely at adding engineering to its broad range of programs. Just a few years later, in 2020, the University’s newest college became a reality.

It just needed a permanent home designed especially for the engineering discipline.

Last October, AU finalized its acquisition of a 47,000-square foot facility in downtown Anderson that will serve as home to the Anderson University College of Engineering.

President Whitaker began conversations two years ago with the Foothills Community Foundation, which owned the three level building on Main Street. Those conversations led to an acquisition that could not have been better planned. Due to the community commitment of the Foundation, Anderson University was able to acquire the property with significant savings. Had the University constructed the building on campus, it would have cost upwards of $17 million. Locating the program downtown was intentional and financially savy. It integrates the University more broadly into the community and it saved almost $12 million.

“We are excited about bringing the College of Engineering into the broader Anderson community,” said Dr. Lisa Zidek.

She came on board as dean in 2023, just a few months before AU acquired the former SunTrust Bank building and started its transformation into a STEM-learning hub for the 21st century.

“Our engineering program will be very visible to the community and make sure everyone knows Anderson University has a thriving engineering program,” Dr. Zidek said. “The growth of the College has been wonderful. Students are coming because they have a lot of confidence in our engineering program.”

Sutliff, a junior in mechanical engineering program, is among them. 

“I chose Anderson University because of the intentionality of everyone I interacted with during the numerous times I was on campus (to tour.) It was clear that, to the Anderson staff and students, you are not just a number. You are a face with a name, and you are cared for deeply,” he said. “That made Anderson feel like a home, which I wanted in college. 

“I also liked the idea of being in an engineering program where you were able to have a lot of interaction with your professors and have a great support system to guide you and provide a lot of opportunities at the undergraduate level to get involved. I know I made the right decision,” Sutliff said. 

Ethan McCarson is another junior with a career in mechanical engineering ahead of him. He picked AU for many of the same reasons as Sutliff. He likes the idea of being part of blazing the engineering trail at AU. “When I graduate, I’ll be able to say I helped build it up to what it is today.”

What it is today is already impressive. There are the features you would expect, of course: engineering labs and classrooms. It’s the specialized equipment that stirs the imagination of Dr. Zidek and her students.

“We have a wind tunnel, a heat treat area and specialized spaces for computer and electrical engineering labs,” she said. “We also have a showcase space where we can present senior design projects to our industry clients and partners.”

That’s a key point, Dr. Zidek said. Connecting students with leaders in the industry they aspire to join is crucial to learning outcomes and continued growth of the program. 

“We’re doing outreach with manufacturing companies in the region, (and the building) will be a place where they can easily access our campus and do training for our students,” she said. “Students need to really understand how the theoretical learning they are doing in class translates to the field. They need to see that theory applied and understand why the basics are so essential to what they are going to be doing in the future.”

Then, there are the so-called soft skills that come from networking and interpersonal interaction. The College of Engineering is a laboratory for that, too. 

“They’ll see, as they start talking to professionals and young engineers that are still developing their skills, that we’re never finished learning. It’s important for everybody. It’s especially critical in an age when technology changes so rapidly in STEM fields in general and engineering in particular.” 

“This is a specific, unique place,” Dr. Neal said of the new College of Engineering facility. “It is testament to the fact that we haven’t just created a vision of a new engineering program. We’ve also planned very well.

That’s why Sutliff chose Anderson University. 

“There are plenty of spaces where we will build things, experiment, learn and just study,” he said. “Having the opportunity to use my creative side with an amazing building and impressive equipment will be such a blessing. It’s going to be an engineer’s playground.”

It’s going to be home.

Written by: Andrew J. Beckner