Lee’s Proposed TTU Funding Includes New Engineering Building

Governor Bill Lee’s proposed funding for Tennessee Tech would include money for a new engineering building.

President Phil Oldham discussed Lee’s proposal Tuesday and said a new engineering facility would greatly benefit the University.

“Sort of the highlight here, $3.25 million is being allocated to start the planning process for a new engineering building at Tech,” Oldham said. “This would be the first new engineering building since 1971. It’s long overdue and we’re excited about that and anxious to get it started.”

Clement Hall currently houses Tennessee Tech’s College of Engineering and general engineering program.

Oldham said the increased proposed budget of $60 million shows Governor Lee’s support towards the University.

“He’s showed a lot of confidence in Tennessee Tech and what we’ve got going on here, with more than $15 million in additional funding for the campus, a lot of that in capital improvements,” Oldham said. “I guess he figured there wasn’t enough construction going on on campus already so we needed more, which is great. In terms of capital appropriation, [the budget] includes about $11 million.”

Oldham said the budget proposal also includes nearly $8 million in various improvements around campus including roofing and utility updates.