Wichita State’s Experiential Engineering Building will be renamed the John Bardo Center. The Kansas Board of Regents approved the name change at Wednesday’s meeting in Topeka.

WSU’s late president died in March of a chronic lung condition. The Experiential Engineering Building was the first building to open on Innovation Campus, which Bardo established.

“President Bardo had an amazing vision for WSU that transformed the university and the campus,” Interim University President Andy Tompkins told the Regents. “The Experiential Engineering Building, with its 25 engineering laboratories and community makerspace, was a reflection of his vision of applied learning that helped launch the Innovation Campus expansion.”

Regent Chair Dennis Mullin said Bardo “worked tirelessly to transform Wichita State University into a model of innovation, research and applied learning.”

“It’s fitting that Wichita State pays tribute to his legacy by rededicating the first Innovation Campus building as the John Bardo Center,” Mullin said.