Valparaiso University's Donald V. Fites Engineering Innovation Center will provide undergraduate engineering students with enhanced innovative, creative and hands-on opportunities to develop and practice their engineering skills, advancing Valpo as a leader in providing a comprehensive education for future engineers.

The new 13,500-square-foot facility will offer well-equipped labs and first-rate learning spaces for the College of Engineering to expand its programming. Students will work in a setting that simulates the environment they will work in once they graduate, including pods similar to the spaces found in high-tech business incubators.

The facility will support students involved in design projects that can improve people’s lives while they also practice creative problem solving, gain management expertise and hone leadership abilities.

The project also includes the renovation of 4,300 square feet of existing classroom and lab space in Gellerson Center.

The Donald V. Fites Engineering Innovation Center will be the first building on campus to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.