Baker, Polito break ground with UMass Amherst officials on new computer science building

A man crossed the Isle of View over the Campus Pond at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2020.Blake Nissen for the Boston Globe/File

Governor Charlie Baker and Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito joined officials at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on Thursday to break ground on a $125 million computer science facility expected to open in spring 2025, officials said.

The 90,000-square-foot facility, funded in part by $75 million from the state , will connect the university’s existing Computer Science building to “an open, light-filled commons for graduate and undergraduate students” and will contain special purpose labs and collaborative work space for students , university officials said in a statement.

“This new, state-of-the-art academic building will equip students with the resources and skills they need to achieve in the classroom and beyond,” Baker said in the statement. “Our administration is proud to support the University of Massachusetts and the Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences as the next generation of scientific leaders learn, succeed and drive innovation.”

Baker said he felt confident that the state’s investment in the facility would pay off.

“This is a really special place,” he said. “This is a place that is doing great things. I know you will do great things with it.”

Polito said the state’s thriving science and technology sector needs a “robust pipeline of talent” to keep Massachusetts a leader in tech, and the university’s “Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences will support students and faculty as they research and develop exciting new advancements in cutting-edge fields and industry sectors.”

Kumble Subbaswamy, the chancellor of UMass Amherst, praised the governor, lieutenant governor, and UMass Board of Trustees Chairman Robert Manning and his wife, Donna, who donated $18 million to the university last year to support the computer science college that now bears their name.

“The Mannings and the Baker-Polito Administration know a wise investment when they see one,” Subbaswamy said in the statement. “Moving forward, CICS will continue to provide a high return on investment, advancing the commonwealth’s key innovation areas and driving scientific discovery in vital areas such as healthcare, sustainable computing, cybersecurity and human-centered technology.”