Katherine A. Ruffatto Hall is the $21.4 million, 73,568-square-foot home of the Morgridge College of Education. Upon its initial construction in the fall of 2010, Ruffatto Hall received LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver certification, which is the U.S. Green Building Council’s standard for authenticating a building’s green features.
In 2015, Ruffatto Hall’s certification was elevated to LEED Gold, further exemplifying MCE and the University’s commitment to sustainable building. Some Gold LEED Certification features of the building include: utilizing high performance glass in all windows to reduce UV and infrared transmission in the building; having a building design that allows 93% of all regularly occupied spaces within the building to view the outdoors; water efficient landscaping that reduces water consumption by 50%; recycling stations provided throughout the building; carpeting that meets the requirements of the carpet and rug institute’s “green label plus” program throughout the building; and low-flow and dual-flush plumbing fixtures that reduce water consumption by 30%.
Ruffatto Hall features state-of-the-art facilities. In addition to 9 classrooms, there are 14 meeting and conference rooms, three with video conferencing, two Cisco TelePresence video conferencing rooms, and numerous spaces throughout the building equipped with chairs, tables, whiteboards, plasma screens and/or network connections for collaborative and distance learning work.
Many of the classrooms in Ruffatto Hall are equipped with a computer, projector and projection screen, interactive whiteboards and two input panels with audio, video and Ethernet connections. Six of the classrooms also have a 42″ LCD monitor. Each classroom allows projection to any or all of these monitors, screens or boards.
Ruffatto Hall is a place where students and faculty from all over the city, state, country and world come together. Our community of students and faculty are connected to partner organizations and professional associations within each field of study across campus and the nation. Ruffatto Hall features a large reception space, conference rooms, and classrooms that can be reserved for internal and external events. The building is often used for community outreach with our partner organizations, hosting seminars, presentations, awards, community events and more.