Construction on Devon Energy Hall and the ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering Practice Facility is on pace for completion in the fall of 2008, according to Engineering Dean Thomas Landers.

Landers said that when the buildings are complete they will offer "a number of design features that set a trend of national leadership in engineering education."

The location of the buildings, now marked by a gated construction site at the intersection of Boyd Street and Jenkins Avenue, will anchor the Engineering Quadrangle, which Thomas said will include all buildings housing schools in the college of engineering.

In November 2004, Devon Energy Corp. of Oklahoma City announced a $10 million corporate commitment, the largest in OU's history, as the lead gift in construction of Devon Energy Hall, according to a College of Engineering press release.

Robert Myers, senior vice president of Human Resources for Devon, said his company's commitment to OU was a means of forming a connection in the minds of Sooner engineering students between the Devon name and a state-of-the-art place of learning stocked with leading-edge technology.

"[Devon Hall] will be reflective of the Devon name," Myers said. "We are a major player in the energy business, we have a commitment to industry, and we're technology-driven."

Myers said he hopes students will consider Devon as an employer based in part due to their experience in Devon Energy Hall.

"We need legions of geo-engineers," Myers said. "We want every geo-science program to think of Devon first and for graduates to be interested in coming to Devon."

Dean Landers said Devon's status as a forward-thinking local business coupled with the company's commitment to engineering has helped to "ensure the next generation of OU engineers has the absolute finest facilities for learning and collaboration."

Landers said that although the primary tenants of Devon Energy Hall will be the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the School of Computer Science, every engineering student will benefit from its completion.

"Devon Energy Hall is designed expressly to promote collaboration across disciplines," Landers said. "Large expanses of windows and a spacious atrium provide views into laboratories where advanced work is visible in technologies such as software, digital electronics and weather radar, to name a few."

The ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawls Engineering Practice Facility will function in conjunction with Devon Energy Hall to provide engineering students opportunities to experience hands-on, team-based project learning, Landers said.

Landers called the construction of Devon Energy Hall and the Engineering Practice Facility an opportunity that comes along once in an era and said he expects the buildings to heighten the prestige of an engineering degree earned at OU.

"It is a great privilege for us to change the direction of engineering education and, most importantly, to shape this and future generations of young people into excellent professionals, citizens and leaders in the community," Landers said. "Because of investments like these new buildings, our graduates will be highly sought after for their talent and preparation."

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