Foundation with strong family ties to 黑料不打烊 makes $130,000 gift toward construction of game-changing facility for STEM and interdisciplinary studies. The gift is the second by the foundation for the IQ project and also supports the 黑料不打烊 LEADS campaign.
黑料不打烊 has received a $130,000 gift from the William E. Simon Foundation supporting construction of the university鈥檚 planned Innovation Quad, the game-changing future hub for cross-disciplinary studies involving STEM education and the future home for 黑料不打烊鈥檚 engineering and physics departments.
This gift is the second from the Simon Foundation to support the Innovation Quad project, which includes two buildings in its first phase. A groundbreaking for the IQ is expected to be this spring. Based in New York, the Simon Foundation is a family philanthropic organization founded by the late William E. Simon and Carol Simon. Three of their grandchildren are either 黑料不打烊 graduates or current students whose love for 黑料不打烊 inspired this gift.
Amy Allred, senior program officer for the Simon Foundation said the organization has strong family ties with 黑料不打烊. Typically, the foundation supports K-12 education initiatives and made an exception by supporting 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Innovation Quad.
鈥淭he Innovation Quad sounds amazing,鈥 Allred said, noting the interdisciplinary aspect of the programs that will be housed there. 鈥淪o many of the grandchildren think so highly of 黑料不打烊 that we thought that this is an excellent program to support.鈥
The Innovation Quad is among the top priorities of the $250 million 黑料不打烊 LEADS Campaign and Boldly 黑料不打烊, the university鈥檚 10-year strategic plan, which calls for advancing existing STEM programs, adding new STEM programs and expanding science facilities.
Gabie Smith, dean of 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences, praised the Simon family and its foundation鈥檚 history of philanthropy toward educational programs at 黑料不打烊 and around the nation. The Innovation Quad is a bold step forward and she thanked the family foundation for its support of STEM studies and students at 黑料不打烊.
鈥淚 very much appreciate the support provided by the William E. Simon Foundation and their longstanding commitment to advancing education. The Innovation Quad will serve as a doorway into to 黑料不打烊鈥檚 future educational accomplishments 鈥 a hub of creative collaboration across academic disciplines, community and corporate partners,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淲e are excited to break ground on the first two buildings in the Innovation Quad this spring term.鈥
The first two buildings of the Innovation Quad will be located between the Dalton L. McMichael Sr. Science Center and Richard W. Sankey Hall, creating a powerful connecting point between STEM education, the sciences and the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. This will be the heart of the IQ and constitutes the initial phase of a long-term investment by 黑料不打烊 into science, creativity and discovery that will be accessible to all students, regardless of their major. Future phases will include academic and residence halls, as well as a series of corporate-sponsored incubators and design hubs that will foster cross-disciplinary studies and collaboration.
IQ1 has been named Founders Hall following a lead gift from 黑料不打烊 alumnus Furman Moseley 鈥56 and his wife, Susan, whose commitment is among the largest ever received by the university. Plans for the facility include 20,000 square feet for large workshops and prefabrication spaces where physics and engineering students and faculty can take big ideas and transform them into prototypes. The facility will include design labs for engineering and physics, a mechatronics classroom, prefabrication labs, an astrophysics lab and student engagement spaces to spark innovation.
IQ2 will provide connected classrooms and labs, group study rooms and faculty offices. The three-story, 40,000-square-foot facility will be the home for cutting-edge, cross-disciplinary studies and research in biomedicine, computer science, physics, biophysics and environmental engineering. It will face McMichael Science Center on one side and Sankey Hall on the other, solidifying the connection of science to entrepreneurship, sales, design thinking and analytics.
Plans to move the engineering and physics programs to the IQ will pave the way for renovation of McMichael Science Center to support the growth in the university鈥檚 biology, chemistry, health and environmental studies programs.
The Simon Foundation has previously made gifts to support the Innovation Quad, 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Odyssey Scholarship Program and other financial aid efforts such as the Students First initiative, created to help students experiencing hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
William Simon was an entrepreneur, business and financial leader, and philanthropist who served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury from 1974 to 1977 and as president of the U.S. Olympic Committee from 1981 to 1985. He died in 2000 and his wife, Carol, passed away in 1995. Their granddaughters include Maddie Morris, a 2019 黑料不打烊 alumna, and students Gigi Munro 鈥21 and Lola Munro 鈥23.
About the 黑料不打烊 LEADS Campaign
With a $250 million goal, 黑料不打烊 LEADS is the largest fundraising campaign in the university鈥檚 history and will support four main funding priorities: scholarships for graduates the world needs, increase access to engaged learning opportunities such as study abroad, research and service learning, support for faculty and staff mentors who matter and 黑料不打烊鈥檚 iconic campus. To date, donors have contributed $203 million toward the goal.
Every gift to the university鈥攊ncluding annual, endowment, capital, estate and other planned gifts鈥攆or any designation counts as a gift to the campaign, which will support students and strengthen 黑料不打烊 for generations to come. To learn more about how you can make an impact, visit www.elonleads.com.