Adorned with classrooms, design studios and windows from floor to ceiling, the Ford Motor Company Engineering Design Center will soon add another modern building to the McCormick School of Engineering’s collection.
While administrators, with help from a live-action Webcam, are excitedly monitoring the progress, some students are less than thrilled.
Construction for the Ford Design Center, located south of the Technological Institute, began in November 2003. Though it currently exists as an 85-foot hole in the ground, the center is expected to be completed by May 2005 and be open for the 2005-06 academic year.
A result of the 2001 Campaign Northwestern to attract funding for new buildings on campus, the Ford Design Center solidifies McCormick’s budding partnership with Ford Motor Company.
Some students are skeptical of this relationship, as it provides an example of NU going corporate.
“You know it’s all about cash,” McCormick junior Norbert Wroblewski said. “But I guess that doesn’t hurt the university.”
McCormick administrators are more optimistic about Ford’s funding and influence.
“Ford is a longstanding recruiter, promoter and supporter,” said Kate Igoe, director of Corporate Relations for McCormick. “The timing was just right. The undergrad curriculum was evolving to include more integrated learning, and we found we needed to improve the facilities.”
In addition to housing the Department of Computer Science and the Masters program in Manufacturing and Management, the center will provide classrooms, workshops and studios for all McCormick design classes.
“Ford is very interested in involving our students with design,” said Gina Myerson, director of Marketing and External Communications for McCormick. “They partnered with us because they understand we’re at the forefront of design education. Ford will have a very active role with our students and faculty.”
Providing $10 million of the center’s $30 million price tag, Ford has already established its relationship with NU undergrads. In the past two years, the company has worked with the Engineering and Design Class (EDC) required for all McCormick freshmen and sponsored Ford Engineering Week, featuring a number of conventions, displays and design competitions during Spring Quarter.
“We start introducing students to design their first year, and this building will house these programs,” Myerson said. “The thing that’s unique is that students will actually be working with clients to develop products. They are finding out cost and logistical parameters and looking at options for design and templates.”
Though Ford is providing funding and a name for the new design center, Myerson said this does not translate to a dominating influence in the education of McCormick students.
“(Students) will continue to design for a variety of clients in a variety of subjects,” she said. “Ford will come in to meet with students and faculty, but whether they will be designing for Ford is uncertain.”
Nonetheless, past partnerships have not been enjoyable for some.
Brian Lee, whose Winter Quarter EDC project during his freshman year consisted of designing a truck bed for Ford, does not have fond memories.
“That project absolutely sucked,” the McCormick junior said. “The bed of a truck is as plain as you can get. We had nowhere to go with it.”
Frustration aside, Lee expressed optimism for the future of the partnership.
“It was the first year they worked with Ford; it’ll probably improve,” he said.
While Ford may not necessarily gain from the work of McCormick undergrads, the partnership is not without benefits.
“NU is a target school for Ford recruitment because we have both engineering and business programs,” Igoe said.
Thus despite skepticism, in students’ eyes the possibility of future employment sheds a positive light on this corporate partnership.
“What I want to do is work for NASA,” Wroblewski said, “but I guess Ford’s not bad either.”
Campus Reporter Jean Luo is a Medill junior. She can be reached at [email protected].
