PULLMAN — Washington State University officials, donors, industry partners and state representatives gathered Friday to dedicate Schweitzer Engineering Hall, a new $80 million student success building that university leaders describe as the welcoming front door for the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture.
President Elizabeth “Betsy” Cantwell joined campus leaders for the ribbon-cutting after an open house that drew students, faculty, alumni and community members into the 66,288-square-foot facility. The building, which opened to students this fall, consolidates academic advising, tutoring, career services, collaboration spaces, multipurpose classrooms, student club areas and industry engagement under one roof.
“Schweitzer Engineering Hall represents the very best of what can happen when public investment, private philanthropy, and a shared belief in student success come together,” Cantwell said. “This building will serve generations of Cougars by providing inspiring spaces where students can discover, create, collaborate, and prepare to solve some of society’s most pressing challenges.”
Partha Pande, dean of the Voiland College, called the hall more than a building.
“It is a place where students will find community, receive support, pursue bold ideas, and gain the knowledge and experience needed to shape the future,” Pande said.
The project was financed through a mix of public and private sources. The Washington Legislature provided $40 million. Edmund and Beatriz Schweitzer, together with Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, contributed $20 million in 2022 — one of the largest private gifts in WSU history and the largest ever to the engineering college. Nearly 100 additional donors, corporations and foundations filled out the remainder, including a $5 million gift from The Boeing Company that supports the Boeing Commons collaboration space on the ground floor.
Edmund O. Schweitzer III, a WSU electrical engineering alumnus, founded Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories in Pullman in 1982. The company has grown into a major employer in the Palouse region and a leading manufacturer of protective relays used by utilities across North America and in more than 160 countries. Schweitzer and his wife have supported WSU for decades, including earlier gifts that created an endowed chair in power systems.
Voiland College enrolls more than 5,000 students across engineering, architecture and related programs. The hall is the first completed piece of a longer plan to modernize the Voiland College’s aging engineering and design district on the Pullman campus.
Author: Mario Lotmore
