Along with a 2.5-story glass atrium, dining hall, several outdoor terraces, and student life areas for gaming, recreation, media and club activities, the new student center will also reference the university’s aviation heritage. For example, Wight & Company, the project’s Chicago-based architect, designed the facility to incorporate cables that suspend a vintage plane from the atrium ceiling, according to a statement by the firm. Lewis University also has its own airport and has been recognized as having one of the country’s leading collegiate aviation programs.

Robert C. DeRose, CPA, MBA, senior vice president for finance & facilities/chief financial officer for Lewis University, said in a statement that the student center is “the realization of a vision for this campus that has been many years in the making.” DeRose added that the university will name the new building for its recently retired president, Brother James Gaffney FSC, in honor of his 28 years of service to the university.

Steadily increasing enrollment at Lewis University has driven a significant amount of new building and renovation on the main campus, much of which has been designed and built by Wight & Company. Since 2004, the two organizations have partnered on more than 50 individual expansion and improvement projects. Wight & Company was chosen to lead the project using its integrated Design & Delivery model, which means that in addition to designing the new student center, the company will also serve as construction manager and will provide civil, structural and MEP engineering services.

Wight & Company is targeting LEED certification for the new structure, which is slated for completion in August 2018.

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“While E-rate over its 18-year life has succeeded in connecting virtually all schools and libraries to the Internet, it is not currently geared for today’s world of interactive, individualized digital learning,” the FCC chairs said in a statement. “By continuing to support broadband connectivity to the building, while significantly expanding support for robust Wi-Fi networks within classrooms and libraries, the FCC’s reforms can deliver the benefits of customized learning to students over tablets and laptops, and enable library patrons to fully participate in today’s digital world.”

E-rate has helped transform access for schools and libraries by providing modern communication networks, according to a statement by the FCC. When it was established in 1996, just 14 percent of U.S. K-12 classrooms were connected. Now, thanks to the program, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler estimates that two-thirds of American schools now have fiber connections capable of high-speed delivery.

However, for those that are lucky enough to be connected wirelessly, such networks often don’t meet the capacity needs of students and teachers, according to a statement by Wheeler in an FCC blog. Nearly 60 percent of American schools lack sufficient Wi-Fi capability to provide students with 21st century educational tools, and many have no Wi-Fi at all. Wheeler called solving the challenge a national priority, remarking that, if coffee shops, hotels and airplanes are equipped with the technology, schools “deserve no less.”

The FCC’s Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would add an additional $2 billion to the program’s $2.4 billion budget to support the expansion, according to the FCC. The program would also target $1 billion annually for the next three years. Total program improvements will target an additional $5 billion for Wi-Fi over the next five years, enough to expand the service to all schools and libraries across the nation. This could also provide an up to 75 percent increase in Wi-Fi funding for some rural schools, as well as a 60 percent increase for urban institutions. These efforts would potentially extend Wi-Fi services to an additional 10 million students over the next year, and begin the phase out of older technologies.

The FCC’s move toward E-rate expansion will also pay special attention to the needs of rural and low-income districts, and will maximize the cost effectiveness of E-rate spending through improved transparency and regulation enforcement and streamlined application and administration.

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