The University of St. Thomas broke ground on the Schoenecker Center Thursday, as the university plans to open the 130,000-square-foot-plus building in the spring of 2024.
Faculty, staff and alumni gathered in what is now formerly known as Parking Lot M while campus leaders spoke on what the building will bring to campus. The over $100 million facility will combine science, technology, engineering, arts and math, which President Julie Sullivan said will “inspire both collaboration across disciplines and creative problem solving among our students and faculty.”
“The world class Schoenecker Center will intentionally, and by design, beckon creative and diverse students and faculty toward our inclusive and interdisciplinary programs,” Sullivan said, “helping us to prepare the workforce of the future, which is a commitment that St. Thomas has always embraced and been successful.”
The complex, which was introduced in December 2019, aims to facilitate collaboration between STEM and arts education through its innovative design and field-integrated spaces.
Lisa Anderson, daughter of Guy Schoenecker – the center’s namesake – and member of both the Schoenecker Foundation and St. Thomas’ Board of Trustees, said the complex represents her father’s passionate belief about the importance of education.
“It’ll be very interdisciplinary, very creative, very collaborative, all of which were qualities that made my dad successful in business,” Anderson said. “I think he would appreciate that this building is basically the next thing for St. Thomas to do because he was always focused on the future; he was always focused on figuring out what the community would need next.”
Although the exterior of Schoenecker Center will mirror other campus buildings, Anderson emphasized that the singular, innovative aspects will be in the complex’s interior.
“I’m excited for all the students that are going to get to be in this building because it’s going to be a really special place to learn, and it’s going to be a little bit different than other spaces on campus,” Anderson said. “I’m really excited that we finally got to the point where we’re putting the shovel in the ground.”
Unlike current St. Thomas buildings, such as the John Roach Center for the Liberal Arts and the O’Shaughnessy Educational Center, the Schoenecker Center will foster STEAM integration through the design of classrooms and studios, said Mark Stansbury-O’Donnell, interim College of Arts and Sciences dean.
“The whole point of the building is things are visible,” Stansbury-O’Donnell said. “You see outside of the building; you see inside of the building; you see all these studios where students are working on their projects, whether it’s engineering or computers or recording studios.”
Dean of engineering Don Weinkauf, who showcased a shovel that was used for the groundbreaking of O’Shaughnessy Science Hall, said the “explosion” of growth at St. Thomas contributed to the planning of the Schoenecker Center.
“I’ve been waiting with my shovel from the last building to put the shovel in the ground on the next one since I’ve gotten here,” Weinkauf said. “There’s opportunities that come with amazing donors like we’ve had, and so all that sort of confluence of patience and growth, and, really, gratitude for those that have come forth to make this happen.”
Luana Karl can be reached at karl2414@stthomas.edu.