Despite a significant recent donation, some students at the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing remain frustrated by the lack of noticeable improvements to outdated facilities and equipment. While the college's financial resources have grown, the tangible benefits to students have been minimal, raising concerns about the administration's true priorities.
In July, the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing received a $30 million donation from the Molinaroli family, raising its funding to $138 million for the 2024-2025 school year. With such significant financial support, one would expect this money to be used for much-needed updates to facilities and expanded hands-on opportunities for students. Yet, the changes primarily included a new sign on the front door, minor improvements to outdated 1960s-era chairs and tables in the lobby and some new wall art at the entrance of the Swearingen Engineering Center.
Students hoping for meaningful upgrades were left empty-handed, as they continued to face broken equipment, outdated labs and added fees that vanished into the administrative abyss. This stark misalignment between resources and student needs raises serious concerns about the administration’s commitment to its student body.
Despite the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing having a budget of $138 million, only $20,000 was allocated to renovations. Any further funds could have been used to modernize student lab spaces, upgrade equipment across classrooms and labs and create dedicated study areas for engineering students. These are crucial for enhancing student motivation through hands-on experiences, as highlighted in the Hands-on Effect on Motivation report.
This gross inadequacy is apparent in the limited dedicated study areas and student labs, where the lack of even basic equipment serves as a small yet telling symbol of the neglect students often experience.
Meanwhile, the college’s travel budget has ballooned to nearly $2 million enriching administrators. At the same time, students are left with outdated classrooms, labs and facilities. This willful neglect becomes even more apparent when engineering students look at the rest of campus and see how colleges with far smaller budgets fare far better.
Every semester, engineering students are required to pay $1,500 in additional fees to a college that fails to invest in them. This sum contributes approximately $9.7 million annually to the college’s budget. Altogether, student contributions, including in-state and out-of-state tuition, make up a substantial portion of the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing’s revenue.
Students expect new experiences and a quality education, but they receive nothing more than added fees. Scholarships, which could alleviate this financial burden, account for a meager 3% of the yearly budget. This suggests that they are hardly a priority for an administration that is seemingly more concerned with securing donations and funding for prestigious projects than with improving the everyday educational experience of its students.
The Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing missed a golden opportunity with the Molinaroli family’s gift to revolutionize the student experience and impress returning students and alumni with the transformation. These funds could have been used to modernize student lab spaces, upgrade equipment across classrooms and labs and create dedicated study areas for engineering students. Yet, the Swearingen Engineering Center and 300 Main buildings remain frozen in time, growing more outdated with each passing day.
The stark contrast between the available funds and the current status quo is inexcusable and highlights a worrying trend. The Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing remains resistant to improvement, both pre- and post-pandemic. The current leadership’s choices indicate they are more interested in how the college appears on paper than in how students are experiencing their education.
While student contributions significantly fund the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing's budget, the administration prioritizes direct revenue-generating ventures such as grants, corporate partnerships and travel. Meanwhile, the budget for supplies has been slashed by 17%, exacerbating the already dire state of the labs and facilities.
With the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing's budget, it's clear that more can be done to improve the classrooms, common areas and lab spaces, which have remained unchanged since 2019. When the college received a $30 million donation, it raised hopes among students that some of that money would go toward improving these aspects of the college. Unfortunately, those students were let down.
This isn't just about outdated student spaces and equipment. It's about the message being sent: student needs are secondary to the college's financial ambitions.