A $3.5 million donation to the College of Engineering funded the James and Gay Hardymon Center for Student Success.

Alumnus James F. Hardymon donated the money for the renovation of the third floor of F. Paul Anderson Tower. The Hardymon family donated an addition $1 million for an endowment to support engineering student enrichment, according to Kimberly Anderson, chemical engineering professor and associate dean for Administration and Academic Affairs in the College of Engineering. That said enrichment includes things like education abroad and undergraduate research opportunities.

Previously, the engineering library was on the third floor. Now, the 9,600 square feet space includes a state-of-the-art study area with movable furniture, monitors, white boards and areas for Presentation U! and Tau Beta Pi engineering tutoring, Anderson said.

“A student can be sitting in the study area, realize he or she needs some assistance and can walk right over to tutoring,” Anderson said.

Psychology senior Ranym Nenneh is the student program coordinator for Presentation U! and works in the center.

“This new renovation has helped target more engineering majors,” she said. “The collaboration between transformative learning and the engineering department has been very successful.” 

Additionally, the Career Development Team, freshmen advisers and student records are all located in the office suite. An adviser from the UK Education Abroad Office spends two hours each week in the center to offer information to students. 

“It is a truly one-stop-shop for student services,” Anderson said.

Anderson said this and other recent engineering projects would not have been possible without the generous support of donors.