Phase I of the Shelby Center is a 185,000-square-foot complex, which opened at the start of 2008.
The west wing houses a student study gallery, providing comfortable study space
for students, as well as the offi ce of the dean and facilities for several other
administrative support groups. The focus of the central building is students.
It houses the Office of Student Services and the AT&T Minority Engineering
Program. The lobby and grand foyer is not only beautiful with its walls of Alabama
Limestone and enspaculata ceiling but also provides a convenient space for special
events. The east wing is designed for instruction and other academic-related activities.
The wing features a 150-seat auditorium, four 50- to 70-seat classrooms, an aerospace
simulation lab and a student study gallery. A central courtyard provides engineering
students, faculty and alumni with a central gathering place.
The second floor houses seven teaching labs, a student study lounge, five research
labs, four wireless labs and four graduate student offi ces. The center section
of this floor houses the atrium and two large computer classrooms that serve students
from across campus.
The top floor provides space for the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering
(west wing) and the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering (east
wing), faculty offices as well as faculty labs. The central section of the third
floor houses a student study lounge and a hospitality
"We recently hosted a group of potential graduate students through the dean's new fellowship program and have seen firsthand the positive effect that the Shelby Center is already having on our ability to recruit students."
- Alice Smith, Industrial and Systems Engineering Dept. Chair