Work is nearly complete on the first phase of a complete revamp
of the Billie Ragsdale Industrial and Management Engineering
Capstone Design Laboratory located on the fourth floor of Roberts
Hall. Funded by a gift from Richard Ragsdale in honor of his
father, who graduated from MSU in I&ME in 1939, the work is
bringing the antiquated lab into the 21st century.
As he proudly opens the door on the brightly-lit room which is
clearly a meeting space for a large group of I&ME students,
Mooney describes how far the space has come since renovation
began last fall.
"First of all, it was always dark and closed in and there was no
ventilation, so it was hot in the summer and cold in the winter,"
Mooney said. The electrical system has been upgraded, allowing
computers in the lab to be upgraded as well. Partitions that
divided the room into small spaces have been knocked out, and new
furniture is to come.
"We couldn't plug in any more than six computers before this."
Mooney said because there are 25-30 I&ME seniors annually, "the
room didn't come close" to accommodating student needs.
"And we were using 10-year-old technology."
With state dollars for updating facilities scarce, the lab might
have had to suffice for longer had it not been for a $156,000
gift from Richard Ragsdale of Nashville, Tenn. in honor of his
father, Billie O., who also ran cross country for MSC. Billie
retired in 1960 as an industrial engineer with General Electric
and he and his wife currently live in Sun City, Ariz.
The gift comes in phases. Half of the funds are being expended to
update the lab through facilities upgrades, furniture, and
equipment The balance has been placed in a permanent endowment to
maintain the lab.
Mooney praised the work of MSU architect Christy Chase, Pat
Simmons of ITC and Skip Martin and Jeff Butler of Facilties
Service on the project.
"All of the work was done in a short time over Christmas break
with the quality exceeding expectations in all cases," Mooney
said.
--Carol Schmidt
