School of Education to move to Fleming Building

The School of Education will soon have a new permanent home on campus as part of a phased renovation of the Fleming Building that will create new collaborative spaces, including learning labs and community areas, to support the mission of the school for the next generation of CU Boulder education students.

Renovations to the west tower of the Fleming Building that began in January of this year represent the first phase of work to accommodate Education’s move. The School of Education will relocate to Fleming beginning in January 2020. 

While the initial plan was for this move to be temporary during a major controlled maintenance project in the current Education Building, further analysis by campus planning, design and construction officials, the School of Education and Academic Affairs determined the Fleming Building would best serve the long-term needs of the School of Education.

Renovations to the west tower of Fleming will include upgraded offices, collaborative and community spaces, including four new classrooms. The second phase of the Fleming renovation, which will begin in January 2021 and take one year to complete, will include renovations to the central portion of the building, including four more classrooms and the creation of two new state-of-the-art teaching labs. 

“This is an exciting time for our school, as we renovate and reimagine our spaces for collaboration and community-building,” said Kathy Schultz, dean of the School of Education. “This move allows for us to design classrooms and community spaces that will reflect our deep knowledge of teaching and learning. And it will allow us to accommodate our growing school. We are grateful for the support of our community and campus partners who are helping make this wonderful opportunity a reality.”

Some of the space Education will eventually move into is currently occupied by the Department of Linguistics, the Student Academic Success Center (SASC) and the Research and Engineering Center for Unmanned Vehicles (RECUV). 

The current plan is for Linguistics and SASC to remain in Fleming until January 2021 and then move into the Education Building when the controlled maintenance project is complete. This move will place SASC--a program that fosters student success, inclusion and community—in the heart of campus near a broader portion of the student population. The move also relocates the Linguistics group in Fleming now to within close proximity of the department’s headquarters in Hellems Arts and Sciences. RECUV, meanwhile, will move into the new aerospace engineering building this summer. Other programs currently in Fleming will remain.

“We’re excited about the benefits these moves will provide for the respective academic programs,” said CU Boulder Provost Russell Moore. “They will promote collaboration that serves the student experience and brings faculty closer together. I’m grateful for everyone’s enthusiasm and patience as these important moves begin.” 

The capital renewal of the Fleming and Education buildings helps address critical deferred maintenance needs, while the School of Education’s move will also create new flexible swing space in the current Education Building.

Kelly Fox, senior vice chancellor and chief financial officer, said, “Having flexible space in the current Education Building will prove vital as we look toward future renovations of buildings like Hellems Arts and Sciences and work to ensure that our historic campus buildings can continue to support the campus mission of education and research for decades to come.”