Although the campus currently is relatively quiet, we have lots of ongoing construction activity in Mendoza and Stayer as we get ready to welcome new faculty members and begin a new academic year. Here are recent updates:

Mendoza IT Offices: The IT team’s new location in Mendoza’s lower level — L054 as the main office and L048 housing academic support — is near completion. The goal is to have the team moved in by August 10.

Mendoza Suite 321: We are very fortunate to have 18 new faculty members joining us this year. To help fill our critical need for more offices, we are converting the former Mendoza IT suite to seven individual faculty offices. Construction is well underway and should be completed in early July.

Mendoza L062: Starting Spring 2021, all Mendoza undergraduates will be required to take a coding course. To provide the necessary classroom resources, L061 and L062 will be permanently separated with L062 being rebuilt as a business analytics lab. Particulars of the classroom are yet to be determined, but work should begin after Thanksgiving, so that both L061 and L062 are fully available for the full fall semester.

Stayer B003 (Commons C): We added a second MSBA cohort to accommodate the increased interest in this program. The B003 classroom in the Stayer basement will feature eight five-seat student tables with dual displays similar to those in the Mendoza L068 classroom. The tables will provide a collaborative learning experience for students, while also allowing them to swivel their seats to a smaller table placed behind them so all students can face forward for lecture presentations.

In this past, this would have been a computer classroom. However, this classroom is designed as a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) space where students can plug their laptops in to share a screen at their table. Access to specialized software for teaching and learning will either be installed on the student's own laptop or be provided using a virtual cloud-based computer lab. In addition, we’re adding comfortable seating and tables inside and outside the room to provide students with an attractive space to study and socialize. I want to thank Rob Easley and the ITAO faculty members including Fred Nwanganga and Sharif Nijim who were integral in providing feedback to optimize the design. We plan to complete this project by August 17.

We also continue to make small improvements to the Mendoza and Stayer buildings, including installing new hallway lighting and replacing ceiling tiles. We plan to install three new “phone booths,” made possible by the MBA Class of 2020 gift, which will provide students with privacy to make phone calls and conduct video interviews. The larger “H to A” north addition will proceed when we gain primary benefaction.

There are many people who contributed to the design and execution of these projects. My particular thanks to Chris Maziar in the Provost’s Office; Doug Marsh, Jeff Day and Natalie Troyer in the ND Facilities Design and Operations Office; Deb Butler of Business Furnishings; Doug Franson and his team; Chris Fruehwirth and the Mendoza IT Ed/Tech team; the Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning for reviewing and advising on classroom plans; and again, to the ITAO department, for their support and input.

In Notre Dame,

Martijn