Dr. Anita Borja Enriquez, 11th from left, and Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero, 10th from left, lead the ceremonial shoveling of sand at the groundbreaking for the School of Engineering building on campus on Friday, December 15, 2023. Photo courtesy of University of Guam ()
The University of Guam broke ground on Friday, December 15, for the construction of its first School of Engineering Building at a time of growth in enrollment among aspiring engineers and as the island sees a construction boom.
It took multifaceted efforts to get the $7.9 million, 16,500-foot construction project off the ground following construction delays attributed to complex financing arrangements as construction costs throughout the island escalated in the past several years.
President Anita Borja Enriquez thanked many parties who worked together in advancing the project. The UOG Endowment Foundation and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development worked out a financing mechanism to help the project get the funding it needs to meet the higher construction cost.
President Enriquez also thanked Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero for providing a $7 million funding package to support the School of Engineering construction project as well as the Student Success Center Building project.
“It really took a community effort to make all of these come to fruition,” President Enriquez said.
Within the past few weeks, UOG has held groundbreaking ceremonies for three construction projects, one for the Margaret Perez Hattori-Uchima School of Health’s Nursing Annex. The second to break ground the same day the Nursing Annex project broke ground is for the Water and Environmental Research Institute of the Pacific facility.
“Working in concert with the University of Guam Endowment Foundation, we are blessed now to have the third out of four projects that we have been anticipating,” President Enriquez said. The Student Success Center will be the fourth project to break ground soon.
Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero attended the ceremony and congratulated the University for the milestone.
“It has raised the stature of our university and that's the initiative that I know President Enriquez is coming forward with,” said Gov. Leon Guerrero. She added that UOG is raising the level of higher education not just for Guam but also for the island nations in the Western Pacific.
UOG School of Engineering growth jibes with Guam construction boom
The growth of the School of Engineering, which now has more than 170 students, is occurring as the island is seeing a construction boom.
“You can see all the civilian projects, you can see all the new projects, as our economy is flourishing,” the governor said, in part.
RIM Architects designed the School of Engineering.
The construction contractor, Future World Corp., aims to complete the project on time, said its President Richard Chi. The project’s estimated completion date is March 2025.
The UOG Board of Regents approved a four-year Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering for the School of Engineering in February 2019.
Fast facts:
UOG’s School of Engineering:
• produced 28 Civil Engineering Graduates since 2022
• welcomed 170 declared civil engineering majors in Academic Year 2022-2023
UOG established partners in workforce development and career pathways for UOG Engineering students and graduates with:
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Marianas
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard
Cabras Marine Corporation
