SDSU Collegian

Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Stephanie Fischer The structure currently known as "Harding Hall South" will house the electrical engineering department. The building sits on the south edge of campus on 8th Street.

By next year, the electrical engineering and computer science departments will have a new building to call their own.

The new facility, called Harding Hall South, will encompass three departments: electrical engineering, software engineering and computer science. The new building has been taking shape since its groundbreaking in July 2007 and is expected to be complete February 2009.

Dennis Helder, head of the electrical engineering department, said he is looking forward to the day when he can give tours of the state-of-the-art facility to prospective students. Harding Hall South will feature laboratories and classrooms as well as new offices to accommodate faculty.

Lack of space is the main reason that the electrical and software engineering departments currently occupy four different buildings on campus: Harding, Crothers, Solberg and the administration building. Helder said another issue is that, "Harding has no electrical capacity for an air conditioning system. Without proper ventilation, computer labs can't be kept cool. That's the reason that the computer science department is scattered around several departments."

According to Professor Steven Hietpas, "Harding Hall was originally a student dormitory, and the spaces are not designed to be used for electronics laboratories."

Aric Lowe, a junior electrical engineering major, agreed that a newer facility is long overdue. "The environment feels primitive, we don't have a good place to work," he said.

Kelly Behnken, a sophomore electrical engineering major, said she is tired of the current restrooms in Harding Hall. "Being that it used to be a men's dorm, there are only two women's restrooms in the entire building. The one upstairs is a joke; it has four sinks, one toilet and a filthy couch."

Dean of Engineering Lewis Brown pointed out that the current building reflects a poor image to the public. "The current facility presents visiting students and parents with a grim reality: SDSU's 'high tech' programs are using out-of-date facilities. This makes it difficult to recruit the best students for our program."

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