In November 2015, the university cut the ribbon on the $19.5 million High Performance Center. Randy Magill, associate athletics director and chief financial officer for University of North Dakota athletics, told the Grand Forks Herald that the high tech track featured in the facility is the only 300-meter track in the United States and has the technologically advanced Mondo surface. The High Performance Center may even continue to grow, as officials have already asked the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education for approval to begin fundraising for the addition of locker rooms, an administrative area, and training and educational space, according to the Grand Forks Herald.

Another addition to the campus will be a $15.5 million expansion to the existing College of Engineering and Mines, creating the new 37,000-square-foot Collaborative Energy Complex. According the Grand Forks Herald, University of North Dakota College of Engineering and Mines Dean Hesham El-Rewini said the project is on time and is within budget. The Collaborative Energy Complex will connect several campus buildings and will be externally complete by fall 2016. Lab equipment will be installed and the building should be open no later than the spring 2017 semester. Work began on the project in July 2015.

"More than just a building to house programs, CEC is about people, about collaboration, about innovation, and about building bridges with industry. It will provide students and faculty with a place to interact with each other as well as with colleagues from other colleges on campus and with industry," El-Rewini said in a statement. "CEC will provide our students and researchers with access to cutting edge laboratories and equipment. Students’ educational experience will be enriched through industry interactions, personalized mentorship, professional development opportunities, and outreach activities.”

Although the Wilson M. Laird Core and Sample Library, which contains numerous geological samples, is owned by the North Dakota Geological Survey and not the University of North Dakota, it is also undergoing upgrades and an expansion. The building will expand into a 160-spot parking lot adjacent to the Collaborative Energy Complex and will eventually connect via skyway to Leonard Hall. Library Director Julie LeFever told the Grand Forks Herald that the project is set to be complete in September 2016. With the addition of a two-story building, the current 15,000-square-foot library will soon contain three times the previous amount of storage space.

Additionally, a 66,000-square-foot aerospace research building is scheduled for major completion in May 2016. Construction on the facility, Robin Hall, is estimated at $22 million. Currently, the majority of the building is enclosed and some windows have been installed. Additional interior work and furnishings will be completed during over the summer of 2016, according to the Grand Forks Herald. The school broke ground on the project in October 2014. Prior to that, the most recent department expansion occurred in 1991.

Finally, exterior work on a $124 million, four-story facility for the School of Medicine and Health Sciences is nearly complete and construction has primarily moved inside the facility. Spokeswoman for the School of Medicine and Health Sciences Jessica Sobolik told the Grand Forks Herald that the 325,000-square-foot project is on time as well as on budget and is scheduled to be complete in May. Work began on the facility, which will for the first time bring all related departments under one roof, in June 2014.

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The nearly 37,000-square-foot CEC will be set on the southeast part of campus between Leonard Hall and Upson Hall I. The new structure will connect the two existing facilities, forming a major engineering education and research complex that will include Upson Hall I & II, Harrington Hall and the nearby Wilson M. Laird Core and Sample Library.

“What a great day for the university and the College of Engineering and Mines,” said UND President Robert Kelley, in a statement. “I commend Dean Hesham El-Rewini and his colleagues for their initiative and vision for the Collaborative Energy Complex, which should provide immediate opportunities for students and long-term solutions for the future of North Dakota and the nation. This facility and the way it was funded ― almost entirely with donations and with important funding from the North Dakota Higher Education Challenge Fund ― is an excellent example of a successful private-sector partnerships, the kind that UND has fostered across our academic and research enterprises.”

El-Rewini noted that the new facility will provide students and faculty with a place to interact with each other as well as with colleagues from other units on campus and beyond.

The CEC will serve as a new headquarters for all areas of energy-related programs within the College of Engineering and Mines, including the Institute for Energy Studies (IES). The College of Engineering and Mines is currently at capacity with petroleum engineering students, fueled by booming oil and gas exploration in western North Dakota. The Petroleum Engineering program started with four students in 2010 and is expecting as many as 350 students in the fall of 2015.

The IES is a university-wide institute led and administered by the College of Engineering and Mines. The CEC will provide the IES with additional space to accommodate their activities. The new building also will be the home of the Solberg Family Student Success Center, which will serve students from all disciplines in the College of Engineering & Mines through personalized advising and mentorship, outreach activities, professional development opportunities, internships and industry interactions.

In addition to providing labs and multipurpose teaching centers, the new facility will provide space for interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation among students, faculty and industry representatives.

After it’s complete, the CEC will feature almost 37,000 square feet of research and teaching labs, as well as customized spaces for students and staff. It will also include a 40-vertical-foot “High Bay Lab” that will be equipped with a 2-ton bridge crane.

“More than just a building to house programs, CEC is about people, about collaboration, about innovation and about building bridges with industry. It will provide students and faculty with a place to interact with each other as well as with colleagues from other colleges on campus and with industry,” said El-Rewini in a statement. “CEC will provide our students and researchers with access to cutting edge laboratories and equipment. Students’ educational experience will be enriched through industry interactions, personalized mentorship, professional development opportunities and outreach activities.”

“In 2013, Governor Dalrymple and I set out to jumpstart private donations to North Dakota colleges and universities by moving the North Dakota Higher Education Challenge Fund initiative through the Legislature and with their help, we did just that," added North Dakota Lieutenant Gov. Drew Wrigley, in a statement. "The Challenge Fund grant review committee awarded $29 million to our schools in the last biennium thanks to the generous donations made by individuals and businesses. Because of those donations and Challenge Fund dollars, North Dakota colleges and universities have been able to invest almost $90 million in their campuses and programs.”

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