'This Building Will Foster Collaboration': Groundbreaking for New STEM Facility

Darlene Shiley looked around, and what came to mind was the idea of partnership. She thought back to when she first met her husband, Donald, and all they’ve accomplished together in the decades since. Then she thought of her partnership with the University of San Diego, with whom she’s fostered a shared vision for the future.

Tuesday was a celebration of Shiley and her late husband, and a glimpse at the culmination of her vision, of her partnership with USD. With dozens of people watching on, Shiley and USD leaders broke ground on the new STEM building that will be adorned with her and Donald’s name.

“For 32 years, I was very proud to be Mrs. Donald Shiley. We were a couple that worked in tandem. My life is dedicated to education; my mom impressed upon me the importance of education. And Donald heard that same message,” Mrs. Shiley said, addressing an audience that included current STEM students. “I’m so proud to be here with all of you today. Whoever you are, whatever you do, you’re going to make this a splendid building with a long-lasting legacy.”

The building is one of the major components of the Shiley STEM Initiative. A year and a half ago, during USD’s 75th Anniversary Founders Gala, Shiley surprised attendees by pledging a $75 million gift to the university. The pledge is the largest in school history. Those funds will have a wide-ranging impact — supporting scholarships and USD’s top-rated acting program, among other things — and this building.

“Donald and Darlene Shiley are the embodiment of leading with love in so many significant and consequential ways. We’re not just proud to carry on this incredible legacy, we are Shiley proud,” said USD President James T. Harris III, DEd.

The talk of partnership was fitting too, as the building itself will serve as connective tissue between two major parts of campus – the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences. The two schools have long worked in concert with one another, as USD has established itself as a leader in integrated engineering and interdisciplinary research;  combining the philosophy and human elements of the liberal arts with the innovation and problem solving of engineering.

“This building will foster creative collisions and collaborations. We’ve designed this building with informal and formal learning spaces — like an ideation plaza — specifically to foster interaction,” said College of Arts and Sciences Dean Noelle Norton, PhD, alongside Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering Dean Chell Roberts, PhD.

Roberts envisioned future students, who used all different aspects of the building to create innovative solutions to some of the world's pressing issues. He described students from different disciplines collaborating with each other and iterating upon one another year-after-year here at USD.

“Those are the dreams of the future. This is what this building allows us to do. Darlene, thank you for helping all of us dream of the possibilities this building holds,” Roberts said.

The 70,000 square foot facility, being constructed next to the Belanich Engineering Center, is designed to meet the demands of today while maintaining flexibility for what tomorrow holds.

There will be spaces dedicated to human cognition, neurophysiology, biomechanics, geospatial analysis and advanced visualization across STEM disciplines. Unique features of the building include a multipurpose theatre for special events and an ecology zone on the roof, where students can study everything from plant growth to solar and wind energy.

Special emphasis is being placed on creating maker spaces, where students will have access to state-of-the-art tools to make their dreams a reality, a fitting homage to Donald Shiley, known for creating things in his garage.

“Every engineer in the universe needs maker space, and this will have that,” Shiley said.

Construction will begin shortly after Commencement.