Thanks to a $75 million donation, according to a news release May 19, the private Catholic research university is constructing a three-story, 70,000-square-foot building to house labs for biomedical engineering, developing medical device prototypes and studying the next generation of robotics.
The donation establishes the Shiley Stem Initiative at USD, which will bring undergraduate research scholarships and fellowships in STEM fields, in addition to the new facility. The initiative is meant to meet the interests of students and the needs of the regional workforce.
According to the university's website, the school has seen a 50 percent increase in students choosing STEM majors since 2013. As a biotech hub, San Diego has also seen an increase in STEM career opportunities. STEM jobs in San Diego County increased 77 percent from 1990 to 2020, according to a report from the University of California, San Diego.
“My belief in STEM education centers around the fact that the region that we live in is ripe for engineers,” Darlene Shiley, the donor, said in a video.
The news release said USD leaders hope the initiative will help elevate the status of the school’s STEM programs. This year, U.S. News & World Report ranked USD the 14th best engineering school in the U.S. among those that do not offer doctoral engineering degrees.
Renderings on the university’s website show planned spaces for biomedical engineering and medical device labs, an immersive visualization room, an optics lab, an environmental lab, a theater, a woodshop, and food science and ecology spaces. Additionally, the initiative may bring new majors and minors, new certificate programs and changes in curriculum, according to the school’s website.
“Today’s groundbreaking is the first step in creating a new, innovative space for our STEM-based students that will elevate their educational experience and research as they become future scientists, engineers and changemakers in our communities,” USD President James Harris III said in a public statement.
