The College of Engineering got a special Christmas present over break: the state is awarding the Wisconsin Energy Foundation a $5 million grant for construction of the college’s new building.

The state’s grant to the foundation reverses an April 2009 decision, in which the university’s $10 million funding request failed to come to a vote before the State of Wisconsin Building Commission, a panel charged with making such funding decisions. Gov. Jim Doyle, who chairs the commission, expressed concern at the time that giving too much money to private schools would take away from the amount of funding given to public colleges and universities.

But months later, Doyle came to campus to announce that Marquette would indeed receive some of what it first requested — this time by way of the Wisconsin Energy Foundation, which has its own approval process.

“We are fortunate to have universities like Marquette that offer an outstanding engineering education and are committed to preparing students for the challenges — and opportunities — of the 21st century,” Doyle said in a Dec. 29 announcement, according to a university press release. Doyle gave his announcement at the Olin Engineering Center, the college’s current home.

The grant is funded through a provision in the state’s biennial budget. It will help fund construction of the College of Engineering’s planned structure, the Discovery Learning Complex, at the southwest corner of 16th Street and Wisconsin Avenue.

The $35 million first phase includes a five-story, 115,000-square-foot building. The total cost of the building project is estimated at $100 million — about two-thirds of which has been raised, according to Stan Jaskolski, dean of the College of Engineering.