On June 22nd, Dr. LeGrande will preside over the opening ceremony of the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering Classroom and Research Building in Texas. The building, expected to be completed by August 2023, will provide spaces for multidisciplinary research, including 3-D manufacturing, space exploration, data analytics, artificial intelligence, robotics, and structural analysis.

The facility aims to promote collaboration among students across engineering disciplines and provide spaces for faculty and graduate students’ research lab.

Under the leadership of academic dean Dr. Pamela Holland Obiomon, the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering has experienced significant enrollment and research output growth. Dr. Obiomon is the seventh dean of the college and the first female to serve in the role.

The new building is expected to increase undergraduate and graduate degrees, hire more faculty, and create more African American engineers.

Dr. LeGrande assumed her duties at Prairie View A&M at the end of the 2022-23 school year. Previously, she served as an administrator for student affairs and enrollment management at the University of Houston-Downtown from 2012 to 2018 and as vice president for strategy, enrollment management, and student success at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Dr. LeGrande has experience working in Texas and holds a doctorate in higher education administration from Texas Tech University. Before her duties in Houston, she worked at North Carolina A&T State University and Winston-Salem State University.

Dr. Ruth Simmons, the previous President of Prairie View A&M, will become President Emerita and hold a faculty appointment as University Professor. Dr. Simmons will continue to raise money, expand the university’s national profile, and lecture to another generation of students.

Overall, the new Roy G. Perry College of Engineering Classroom and Research Building is expected to be a significant development for Prairie View A&M University, promoting collaboration among students and increasing opportunities for research and learning.