LSU Construction & Advanced Manufacturing Building

On October 18, 2024, LSU publicly announced plans for a $107 million Construction & Advanced Manufacturing Building to support its nationally recognized construction management program and growing advanced manufacturing programs. The 148,000-square-foot complex will position graduates of these programs to be world-class leaders and problem solvers. The building will centralize advanced manufacturing spaces, support the development of construction and manufacturing methods such as three-dimensional printing, and continuously integrate the latest industry and scholarly advancements, including artificial intelligence. These innovations are meant to equip our students and faculty to drive productivity for our nation’s industries.

 

Conceptual renderings of the LSU Construction & Advanced Manufacturing Building


The Construction & Advanced Manufacturing Building will serve as the new hub for LSU’s construction management program, featuring new and enhanced lab spaces for multiple disciplines. This new facility, which will be located across the street from Tiger Stadium on South Stadium Drive, will be a highly visible landmark that expands LSU’s overall engineering corridor.

 

LSU is poised to be the best construction management and engineering science program in the United States, and a top global leader. Improved campus infrastructure provides a platform to seize that opportunity.

William F. Tate IVLSU President
President Tate

Investment

Class of 1972

LSU Construction Management Class of 1972, featuring Art Favre (first row, sixth from left), Eddie Rispone (first row, seventh from left), and Pepper Rutland (second row, fourth from left).

The Construction & Advanced Manufacturing Building is a $107 million project. In addition to $32 million in capital outlay funds from the State of Louisiana, LSU is actively partnering with donors to contribute $75 million in philanthropic support for the project by spring 2026.  

Leading gifts made to date include a $15 million leadership gift from Art Favre, founder of Performance Contractors and a graduate of the first LSU construction management class in 1972; a $7.5 million investment by MMR, founded by Pepper Rutland, also a graduate of the first LSU construction management class; and a $5 million investment by Cajun Industries, founded by LSU civil engineering alumnus Lane Grigsby and now led by fellow LSU graduates Todd Grigsby and Mike Moran.  

Other LSU construction management and engineering alumni are leading the way on the project, including ISC Constructors, co-founded by Eddie Rispone (graduate of the first LSU construction management class) and Jerry Rispone, an LSU electrical engineering alumnus; Rene (LSU mechanical engineering) and Kay Joyce; Harry (LSU petroleum engineering) and Norma Longwell; LA Contractors’ Educational Trust Fund via the LSU Construction Industry Advisory Council; S&B Engineers & Constructors, co-founded by the late William A. Brookshire, Ph.D., an LSU chemical engineering alumnus; and DSLD Homes, for which LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business alumni Lee Foster and Jeff Purpera Jr. are partners.

Make A Gift

 

We are extremely fortunate that we have such a large concentration of construction companies located right here in Baton Rouge. In recent years this sector has been the single largest employer of LSU engineers, including mechanical and electrical engineers. LSU engineering faculty are also excellent partners for construction. This new building will catalyze industry-university collaborations that produce practical innovations that lead to faster, less expensive and safer building practices.

Vicki Colvin, PhD Dean of the College of Engineering
Dean Colvin

Connect With Us

We look forward to partnering with you to achieve your vision for being part of the LSU Construction & Advanced Manufacturing Building. 

  • Krista Raney, Senior Vice President for Development 
  • Jordan Jopling, Assistant Vice President for Development 
  • Vicki Colvin, PhD, Dean of the College of Engineering 

Project News

Read the latest project updates. 

October 18, 2024 
New LSU Construction & Advanced Manufacturing Building Aims to Elevate Louisiana’s Economy

 

Impact

The Construction & Advanced Manufacturing Building will be pivotal in: 

  • developing industry-ready graduates who will drive innovative solutions for industry challenges
  • attracting and retaining elite students and faculty with infrastructure that allows for substantial lab space, opportunities for expanded research faculty, and capacity for advanced manufacturing machinery
  • yielding generational impact for Louisiana, regional and national companies, and Louisiana-educated talent