A
new,
high-tech
academic
building
to
house
Baldwin
Wallace
University
STEM
programs
will
be
named
for
the
late
pioneer,
entrepreneur
and
philanthropist
Austin
E.
Knowlton.
BW President Bob Helmer announced an $8 million grant from The Austin E. Knowlton Foundation at an Oct. 5 groundbreaking, set against the backdrop of BW's Bold & Gold homecoming and community day celebration.
Ed Diller, of the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation, said the gift echoes the Foundation's enduring legacy and mission to promote and advance higher education.
"The Austin E. Knowlton Foundation is delighted to be a catalyst for this new phase of STEM education for Baldwin Wallace and its students," said Diller. "The Austin E. Knowlton Center will be more than a science building. It will be a place that transforms STEM education at Baldwin Wallace so that the university can prepare leaders equipped to address the pressing science, technology, engineering and math needs of the region."
Additional
corporate
and
foundation
support
for
the
$25
million
project
includes
major
gifts
from
OEC,
a
Richfield-based,
Software
as
a
Service,
technology
company;
The
Harding
Family
Charitable
Trust;
and
FirstEnergy
Foundation
and
FirstEnergy
Corporation.
"OEC is proud to support this state-of-the-art STEM facility for BW students," said Charles Rotuno '86, chairman and CEO of OEC and former chair of the BW Trustees.
"BW has been our educational partner for many years, and this facility represents the next step in the University's continuing efforts to prepare students for in-demand careers such as software engineering and business intelligence. We are very pleased to play a role in BW's ongoing investment in the future of Northeast Ohio."
A
number
of
additional
key
donors
were
on
hand
to
turn
over
a
shovel
of
earth
in
BW's
North
Quad
where
the
Knowlton
Center
will
rise.
All
embrace
BW's
answer
to
the
regional
imperative
to
educate
more
well-rounded
STEM
professionals.
"BW is grateful to be joined by project partners who believe in the University's ongoing vision to provide our growing number of STEM students the educational facilities and experiences they need," said President Helmer. "This investment comes at the right time for Northeast Ohio as demonstrated by the strong support of donors who have rallied around this project."
The state-of-the-art Center - designed in consultation with industry leaders - will bring together data science, artificial intelligence, mathematical modeling, cyber security, engineering and physics in the 55,000 square-foot building.
Key features will include:
The groundbreaking ceremony signified the beginning of construction on the project, expected to open in January 2021.
The Austin E. Knowlton Foundation was established by Austin E. Knowlton in 1981. The Foundation's primary mission is:
Mr.
Austin
E.
Knowlton,
also
known
as
"Dutch,"
was
the
owner
and
chairman
of
the
Knowlton
Construction
Company,
an
organization
started
in
Bellefontaine,
Ohio,
in
1937
and
whose
predecessors
dated
back
to
1906.
Mr.
Knowlton,
through
his
company,
was
responsible
for
over
600
major
and
significant
construction
projects
throughout
Ohio
and
the
Midwest,
including
school
buildings,
hospitals,
libraries
and
post
offices.
Mr. Knowlton was a 1927 graduate of Bellefontaine High School in Logan County, Ohio, and The Ohio State University, class of 1931, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering. He became an avid sportsman with a 50-year interest in saddlebred horses, an original founding partner of the Cincinnati Bengals where he served as chairman, a major ownership interest for many years in the Cincinnati Reds and a trusteeship of the Little Brown Jug Society for harness racing in Delaware, Ohio. Mr. Knowlton also was a leading philanthropist with The Ohio State School of Architecture named in his honor.
