Tech Asks For Social Sciences Building Money

Tennessee Tech will seek some $117 million in funding from the State Legislature next year, including money for a new Social Sciences Building.

Vice President for Planning and Finance Claire Stinson said the $100 million project ranks as fifth among the Tennessee Higher Education Commission’s priorities statewide. The building would replace Crawford and Matthews-Daniel Halls. Both would be demolished.

“Once we got our instructions from THEC, the top five outlay projects for the 24-25 school year would move forward for the 25-26 year,” Stinson said.

THEC allowed a 10 percent inflationary bump in the cost of that project from last year’s rankings.

Tech will also ask for some $17 million for inflationary pressures surrounding the Advanced Construction And Manufacturing Engineering, or ACME Building. Tech would be required to match some $10 million on that project.

“This is one of those cases where industry has been quite unstable,” Stinson said. “We feel like we have a good price on that right now.”

The ACME building is currently in the design phase.

Stinson said two proposed renovations did not make the state list for submittal in the upcoming budget process.

The university will pay for renovations to the Academic Wellness Center during the new fiscal year. The old fitness center’s pool will be filled in, with other renovations to allow for temporary meeting space for the football program.

“Somebody’s going to go in there after the football program moves out and so let’s just go ahead and do it,” Stinson said.

The project’s estimated cost stands at just over $3 million.