Texas Tech hosted its first topping out ceremony of its second century, but it won’t be the last.
Welcome back to the Mailbag!
Thursday marked a special occasion on campus. The Academic Sciences Building, the massive structure under construction right in the middle of campus, had its topping-out ceremony.
The topping out ceremony is the placement of the final structural beam on the building and symbolizes progress being made.
Standing there watching a very talented crane operator move a steel beam to the top of the building, a few of us came to the conclusion that this was the first topping out ceremony of Texas Tech University's second century.
The Academic Sciences Building is a big step forward for Texas Tech. It's a state-of-the-art research facility and teaching facility – the kind of place the founders of this university likely couldn't have even imagined – and once it's finished, we'll certainly be there to show you why it's so special.
It's a big building – more than 125,000 square feet of awesomeness. It's going to stand out even on a campus this nice.
It's fitting though. Texas Tech's first president Paul Horn once said: “Everything that is done on these West Texas Plains ought to be done on a big scale. It's a country that lends itself to bigness.”
And he was right, so we're doing it big.
Plenty of people signed their names on the beam that went to the top yesterday, but it should be noted that this is just the first of what we hope will be many beams placed in the coming years. For 100 years this university has done nothing but grow, and we're not stopping now.
This school is ambitious. Texas Tech wants the best for its students, and the Academic Sciences Building is a step toward making sure the facilities on campus offer the students here the very best.
I have no expectations of being around when Texas Tech celebrates its bicentennial (though with the work our scientists will be able to do in this new building I'm not ruling it out) but I can only imagine the changes that will take place on this campus between now and then.
The look toward our school's future was a great way to kick off the summer. The building won't be done by the time students return to campus in the fall, but as you read this, there are bricks going up on the outside. So, by the time students get back it'll be looking pretty good.
The future is bright here on campus, and by this time next year the Academic Sciences Building will be a shining light right in the middle of it.
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