New aviation building honors past, looks to future
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 09/28/2009
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It was in with the new but not quite out with the old at the dedication of the Niswonger Aviation Technology Building on Friday.
The new $7.5 million building, located at the Purdue University Airport, is named in honor of Scott Niswonger, a 1968 graduate in Aviation Technology. The new building contains modernized lecture halls, program offices and a collaborative learning space to help bring Purdue’s airport campus up to date for the 610 students in the program.
Jeremy Moss, a senior in the College of Technology, said it “felt like we weren’t at Purdue anymore,” when leaving the modernized central campus to go to the airport. The old portion of the building, which is incorporated into the new edition, is reminiscent of the older corridors of University Hall.
Although the rooms in the old wing of the building will still be used for teaching and lab purposes, they are getting quite old. The primary lecture hall previously used by students was the same hall Amelia Earhart used in the 1930s.
The past is not completely forgotten among the new rooms and technology. Upon entering the building, visitors see an intact wall of the old brick hangar, which has been incorporated into the modern structure. The wall has “Purdue University” painted in white block letters on top of the brick.
“The architect kept the wall of the old hangar intact to honor the past,” said Thomas Carney, a professor of aviation technology.
The new rooms look like those found elsewhere on campus, complete with computer projectors, speakers and cushioned chairs.
“We were long overdue,” said Brad Detert, a senior in the College of Technology. “It’s nice to have a new building for the incoming freshmen. I’m a little jealous.”
The ceremony was capped off with the flyover and landing of a Navy F/A-18 fighter. Once the jet landed, students at the ceremony immediately abandoned the new facility and the free food to examine the aircraft and to have an opportunity to talk to the Navy pilot.