A new College of Engineering at Illinois State University (ISU) is helping close long-standing gaps in enrollment, retention, and graduation of underrepresented and underserved students in mechanical and electrical engineering. Aondover Tarhule examines design decisions that emerged from six years of analytics, stakeholder consultations, academic curriculum planning, facilities, and site analysis. He illustrates the resulting teaching lab and maker space configurations and distinctive details that differ from traditional engineering buildings in collaboration, teamwork, and affinity group study areas. He illustrates how the adaptive-reuse building serves as a learning tool and provide space for industry partnerships.