UA Little Rock Dedicates Staley Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Lab
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock dedicated the newly renovated Staley Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Lab Oct. 5 in the Engineering and Applied Technology Sciences building at UA Little Rock.
The lab will help students in the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering emphasize the important role that mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) subcontractors have in the building environment. The lab renovation is thanks to a five-year, $40,000 donation from Staley Electric.
“Because of this generous support, UA Little Rock now has a newly remodeled MEP lab that will help our students appreciate and understand how to coordinate work with MEP subcontractors,” UA Little Rock Provost Ann Bain said. “Subcontractors hire the majority of the trades that include highly skilled workers performing complex tasks. This lab and our relationship with Staley will assist our students in understanding and supporting MEP work.”
Brent Staley, president and CEO of Staley Electric, is making this investment with UA Little Rock to provide career specific education and training for the next generation. Staley’s mother and wife, Connie and Natalie, are both graduates of UA Little Rock.
“We are really excited about this partnership and what it means for the careers of the young adults who are going to come through this program and how they are going to enter the workforce – locked, aimed, and ready to go,” Staley said.
The wall of the classroom is adorned with Staley’s core values: stewardship, trust, agility, loyalty, excellence, and the yes attitude. These are values Staley hopes the students will learn at UA Little Rock and carry with them throughout their careers.
“This business was started less than a mile from here in Royce and Virginia Staley’s garage,” Staley said. “The core values are what we live by every day. It’s how we measure ourselves. Those core values are a direct reflection of Royce and Virginia Staley and Connie and Natalie and me. We thought if we could share anything with the students in perpetuity, that’s what we would want them to see every day.”
This gift is part of the Centennial Campaign, UA Little Rock’s fundraising campaign to raise $250 million before the university’s 100-year anniversary.
“UA Little Rock will celebrate its centennial year in 2027,” said Dr. Lawrence Whitman, dean of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. “We are currently working to raise a quarter of a billion dollars in support of student scholarships, student support, program excellence, and the living and learning environment. This gift for the renovation of this classroom is a perfect example of donor dollars making an impact on the students’ learning environment.”
