The new Education and Human Services building welcomed important visitors Thursday: the Board of Trustees.

Prior to their Thursday meeting, the Trustees toured the building, which will start being loaded with furniture and technology in March, under the guidance of College of Education and Health and Human Services Dean Karen Adams.

Board Chairman Jeff Caponigro said the Trustees are proud of the building and its progress.

“You can see it’s clearly a model of contemporary education,” he said. “It wasn’t one classroom after another classroom, like you see in other buildings. We’re using the latest technology.”

Board members were the first taken through the 200-seat auditorium in the north face of the building, which includes only a tiered cement floor and metal stumps where desks will eventually stand.

They toured the observation laboratories on the first and second floors, mediated classrooms on the third floor and faculty offices on the fourth floor.

Back in the first floor, the tour concluded by showcasing the room funded by University President Michael Rao and his wife.

“The building is approximately 80 percent complete and on schedule,” said Director of Plant Engineering and Planning Linda Slater.

Slater said furniture and technology should be moved in by mid-March. Landscape is expected later, in late May. The grand opening is scheduled for September 2009.

The $50 million building will include four observation laboratories, a fully flexible classroom where the screen, lectern and seating can be changed freely, and an outdoor learning center on the south-facing side of the building.

Ray Francis, professor of teacher education and professional development, said the technology in the building opens new possibilities for teaching, and might even lead to the creation of new courses.

CMU is making an effort to purchase furniture made with recycled content as part of a push to make the education building eco-friendly.

The building is expected to be the first on campus to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified.

Reduced water and energy consumption, a light-well to bring in daylight from the roof and a “green,” or vegetative, roof are some of the LEED features.

Workers are currently installing terra cotta rain screens and slate on the building’s exterior.

“It’s a great model for sustainable buildings we might see in the future,” Caponigro said.

The opening and operating budget for the building includes funding for four custodians, one landscape operations caretaker, one architectural trades helper and one HVACR journeyman, said Steve Lawrence, associate vice president of Facilities Management.

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