On Friday, October 29, 2021, the College of Engineering hosted a special dedication ceremony for Fitts-Woolard Hall. Remarks were given by Chancellor Randy Woodson, College of Engineering Dean Louis Martin-Vega, industrial engineering alumnus Edward P. Fitts ’61, North Carolina Senate President Pro Tempore Phil Berger and engineering students Andrew Cook and Sarah Gerkin.
Fitts-Woolard Hall is the latest addition to NC State’s Centennial Campus, one of the premier university research parks in the U.S. The building spans 225,000 square feet and houses the College of Engineering’s Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering; the Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE); cutting-edge laboratories; administrative offices; and more than 100 classrooms. NC State officials said the goal is to provide students and faculty members with the space they need to “leverage the power of convergence across disciplines in an atmosphere unmatched anywhere in the nation.”
The construction of Fitts-Woolard Hall was made possible by a unique public-private partnership. Half of the $153 million needed for the building was provided by public funds, thanks to a bond referendum passed by North Carolina voters in 2016, while NC State secured the remaining funding through private philanthropy. The latter was fueled by a lead gift from Fitts and his fellow industrial engineering alumnus Edgar S. Woolard ’56, for whom Fitts-Woolard Hall is named.
Learn more about the history of Fitts-Woolard Hall here.
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