New building to be constructed by the Quad
Construction on a new building for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences is expected to begin on Utah State University’s Quad.
The Mehdi Heravi Global Teaching and Learning Center will be located between Old Main and the Ray B. West Building on what is currently a parking lot. When completed, the building will be two stories and nearly 40,000 square feet.
The construction will begin following the upcoming commencement.
The first step of the project is altering Champ Drive, the road that passes along the south end of the Quad, which will be adjusted to make additional space for the building.
The center will house programs in the Department of World Languages and Cultures, including the Intensive English Language Institute and the Master of Second Language Teaching program.
CHaSS dean Joe Ward said he is excited for the building and the opportunity to enhance the ability of students to learn about the world through language and culture.
“We think that his new building will facilitate student learning,” he said. “That is one of the primary focus areas of the college.”
Ward also said the building will be beneficial to support the growth of the language department.
“Currently, we have faculty members affiliated with the department who are based in several buildings around campus,” he said. “By consolidating all of these different offices in one central, highly visible location, we think it’s going to make it easier for students to learn languages.”
Carter Ottley, the CHaSS senator-elect in the USU Student Association Academic Senate, said he hopes a new building will unify departments and bring students together.
“Sometimes it’s a little bit difficult to feel united as a college because Old Main isn’t able to house all of our departments and classes,” Ottley said. “I think the new building will bring students together because it will be a space dedicated to our college.”
While the building will house CHaSS classes and departments, there will also be spaces that are available to all students, including study spaces, a multipurpose room and a coffee bar.
The building will also include cultural hangout spaces, language labs and a reflection room, a quiet space where students will be able to meditate and pray.
The building is being funded by $14.5 million in state funds, with an additional $2.5 million coming from private donors, including The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The $17 million budget is “modest but still meets critical needs,” Ward told USU Today regarding the project.
Mehdi Heravi, a notable CHaSS alumnus, donor and the namesake for the building, said he’s humbled and honored by the opportunity to have the building named after him.
“My dream and my hope is that anyone who goes through that building in any capacity would be a promoter of peace, and a thinker of freedom, friendship, brotherhood, inclusiveness, equality and justice,” Heravi said.
Heravi credits the honor primarily to his love for CHaSS and USU. Heravi received both his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from the college.
Ward said USU is delighted to have the opportunity to honor Heravi by naming the building after him.
“His life and career epitomize the importance of global engagement,” he said.
Heravi was born in Tehran, Iran to a large, educated family. He began studying at a private school in England when he was nine.
As a teenager, Heravi’s father sent him to Utah, where he became familiar with USU and began his time as an Aggie.
Heravi worked with the university as a student senator and teaching assistant until he left Logan to earn his Ph.D. in 1965.
He has continued to be engaged with students and was inducted into the Old Main Society, which recognizes individuals who have assisted the university through their gifts.
“It’s a moral duty for anyone who has been blessed — and I have been blessed since I was born -to give back — especially to people who are in need,” Heravi previously told USU Today.
Heravi has also created and funded a number of scholarships for USU students, including ones for every CHaSS major, agriculture and education. He hopes to continue these donations.
“They’re all endowed scholarships. They are permanent,” Heravi said. “For many years, students will benefit from that because I have a passion to help the students. Scholarships recruit students and retain students.”
Marisa Davis, a communication studies major, received one of Heravi’s scholarships at the 2022 CHaSS awards banquet on March 24. She’s appreciative of Heravi for his contribution to her education.
“Getting this award was a wonderful surprise,” Davis said. “It assured me that I would be able to pay for the next year of school while staying involved in jobs and volunteer work that are meaningful to me.”
Ottley also had an opportunity to meet Heravi during his recent visit to USU and said he’s an amazing person.
“He has donated so much time and money into CHaSS to make it successful,” Ottley said. “I am thankful for all he has done and all he will continue to do.”
In regards to his contributions to USU that have resulted in a building being named in his honor, Heravi reinforced his love for the university and CHaSS.
“I consider anyone from CHaSS my immediate family,” he said.
Ward also expressed gratitude to Utah, other donors and USU President Noelle Cockett for her leadership.
Editor’s note: When first published, this article claimed that much of the parking in the area is expected to be preserved, which is incorrect. This article has been edited and is now accurate.
-Jared.Adams@usu.edu
Featured photo from: Utah State Today