Naming opportunities are available for the facility, welcome center, vehicle bays, and more, along with additional options such as a named endowment, founder’s wall, and in-kind gifts. With preliminary designs complete, final architectural plans will be finalized in 2026, with construction set to begin that year and occupancy targeted for Fall 2027.
Such an expansion will help the region meet workforce needs of business and industry across North America, as expressed by the university’s Automotive Advisory Committee.
It will allow university to double the current enrollment of 250 students, who upon graduation will be trained for good-paying, industry-leading jobs.
The facility will be built north of the Crossland Technology Center, across the parking lot from the wing of the center that houses current Automotive Technology labs.
Professor Tim Dell, who coordinates the university’s Diesel and Heavy Equipment (DHE) program in the School of Automotive & Engineering Technology, said the curriculum has grown tremendously since his arrival in 1999 and it’s nearly impossible to simultaneously disassemble engines, transmissions, and other components in the existing facility.
“It’s complex to fit everything into our available teaching space,” he said, noting that they work outdoors when weather allows, and use high-rise heavy-duty shelving and shipping containers to rotate components in and out as needed for instruction.
“With these limitations, it is taxing on the faculty to deliver the absolute best instruction to students,” he said.
The new building will be tailored to the program’s needs and will take all of the programs in Automotive, Collision, Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV), and Diesel and Heavy Equipment to a new level for future generations.
Phase 1 calls for a building of 20,200 square feet, will establish nine hybrid electrical vehicle laboratory bays, and will create 10 adaptable heavy equipment bays that can serve diesel heavy engines, transmissions, hydraulic systems, and machines.
It will be funded with an estimated $10 million in private gifts.
Phase 2 calls for another 10,000 square feet and will include 16 heavy equipment bays and will be funded with an estimated $5 million in private gifts.
An additional estimated $5 million in state and federal funding is being sought for the project.
Dell said the new building will allow HEV to move out of the two-year automotive service lab and to expand to meet future demand. When the DHE equipment moves, it will allow the Collision program – currently in a cramped space – to expand.
When the hydraulic trainers are moved to the new facility, it will allow more students in the transmissions lab.
Dell noted that these spaces are used not just by Pitt State students, but also by the Kansas Center for Career Technical Education to offer instruction to Kansas teachers and industry personnel; three summer workshops are being planned in partnership with the KCCTE from 2025 to 2028 as part of a grant.
“We have faculty with a great deal of expertise, state-of-the-art equipment, and industry support. Now we just need space,” Dell said. “When prospective students walk into the new facility, it will make it an easy decision for them to choose Pitt State.”
Learn more: