Governor DeSantis signs 2026-27 budget, funding a new building that will expand and
reshape the joint college’s campus
The FAMU-FSU College of Engineering has received the final piece of state funding
needed to complete Building C, a new facility that will expand the college’s existing
campus at Innovation Park with new classrooms, teaching labs and collaborative learning
spaces.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the 2026-27 state budget on June 29, including a $91.98 million
appropriation for the project. The funding, requested by Sen. Corey Simon and Rep.
Tyler Sirois, brings the state’s total investment in Building C to approximately $152
million across three budget cycles, following earlier appropriations of $20 million
in 2023-24 and $40 million in 2025-26.
Since the college’s last major building opened in the 1990s, it has grown significantly,
adding new academic programs and enrolling more students than ever before. Building
C will expand capacity to educate the next generation of engineers, helping meet Florida’s
growing workforce needs and supporting the state’s continued innovation and economic
growth.
Students of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering will have a new building centered
on classrooms, collaborative learning spaces and student laboratories within a few
years. (Photo by: Scott Holstein/FAMU-FSU College of Engineering)
“This new building will give our students the classrooms, teaching laboratories and
collaborative spaces they need to learn by doing, the hallmark of an engineering education,”
said Suvranu De, the Google Endowed Dean of the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. “I
am grateful to the Florida Legislature and Gov. DeSantis, and to Sen. Simon and Rep.
Sirois, who carried this request. Their commitment to engineering education will have
a lasting impact on our students, our state, and the generations of engineers who
will follow.”
The joint institution’s last major facility opened in 1998. Since then, enrollment
has surged: undergraduate enrollment is up 22% and graduate enrollment up 44% over
the past five years, pushing total enrollment past 3,700 students from FAMU and FSU.
The roughly 164,000-square-foot building will add classrooms and hands-on instructional
space, plus a new plaza and auditorium. It will also become the engineering village’s
main entrance, reshaping how students and visitors move through campus. Initial designs
continue the architectural throughline set by the college’s original 1980s building
and its 1990s second building. The floor plan includes modern features to support
active learning, collaborative study, makerspaces and state-of-the-art lab space.
“This was truly a joint effort from start to finish,” De said. “FSU’s leadership and
government relations team worked alongside their FAMU counterparts throughout the
session, because both universities recognize how central the joint college is to their
future and are committed to its continued success.”
About the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering
Established in 1982, the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering is the only shared college
of engineering in the nation, jointly operated by Florida A&M University, a historically
Black university, and Florida State University, a Research 1 institution. Students
enroll and graduate through their home university while learning and researching together
at the college’s shared campus in Tallahassee’s Innovation Park.
Media Contact:
Rachel James-Terry
Senior Director of Strtegic Communications
rachel.jamesterry@famu.edu
Tisha Keller, MA, CDMP
Assistant Dean for Marketing, Media & Communications