Metropolitan State University of Denver plans to build a Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics building on the Auraria campus. (Provided by Metro State)

Metropolitan State University of Denver wants to boost its aerospace program into a higher orbit by constructing a new $40 million to $50 million building.

The proposed 143,000-square-foot structure would be built adjacent to Metro's new Student Success Center. School officials hope to split the costs among Metro, private partnerships and the state. A proposal for funding has been made to the state's capital development committee, with a decision expected to be made next spring.

Metro president Stephen Jordan discussed the plans for the new Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) building Tuesday during a meeting with community and business leaders.

According to the state's Department of Economic Development, the aviation and aerospace industry is one of 14 key industries crucial to the state's economy; another is advanced manufacturing, which would also be part of Metro's program.

"The pie doesn't seem to have an end to it," said Joe Rice, the director of government relations for Lockheed Martin. "Colorado has the second-largest aerospace economy in the United States, so there's a huge need for young engineers to come through and fill the jobs we need in the state that's what's really booming."

Metro has been reaching out to the industry, including Lockheed, to help determine the scope of the curriculum whether an advanced manufacturing program would include a business component, or perhaps even accounting.

The idea, said Joan Foster, dean of Metro's School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and co-chair of the building committee, is to wed the critical thinking found in traditional education with training tailored towards specific jobs and skill sets.

"Someone may want to be in the field but not take a straight industrial track," she said, "and the technology is changing so much anyway that we need to train students to be able to adapt to whatever may come next in the field."

Metro's project is just one of a number of initiatives in the state.

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Metro State University of Denver seeks to boost aerospace program