![]()
RAPID CITY, S.D. (Oct. 23, 2012) – The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology will host a grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony for its Downtown Campus building, 520 Kansas City St., at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 26.
The 18,000-square-foot building is home to the university’s Department of Industrial Engineering, and offers a four-room state-of-the-art conference center for community use.
Guests will be offered facility tours and refreshments following welcoming remarks by university administrators, Mayor Sam Kooiker and Mines alumnus and business partner Hani Shafai. The university leases the building from Sharaf Properties, LLC.
The industrial engineering program and its nearly 150 students have operated out of the top two floors of the building for the past year while renovations continued on the main floor and basement conferencing rooms. The first floor also features a School of Mines information center.
The impetus for the move into downtown is two-fold, both as a way to connect with Rapid City’s economic development plans, as well as to expand the physical campus to accommodate the university’s growing student population and laboratory needs.
Between the Downtown Campus facility and a development laboratory at 920 E. Saint Patrick St., the School of Mines is leasing more than 32,000 square feet in off-campus facilities. The South Dakota Board of Regents has approved the formation of a committee to develop a plan for a projected 120,000-square-foot research facility on campus.
With a 2,424 fall headcount, SDSM&T experienced a 4.9 percent enrollment growth this year.
Among the new Downtown Campus laboratories are the Human Engineering Lab, where students study ergonomics in a hands-on environment, and a lab featuring a mill, lathe and laser engraver, which students use to create artistic or innovative designs for the marketplace.