The chairman of Level 3 Communications and Colorado State University alumnus Walter Scott, Jr. has committed $10 million for construction of the Engineering II building at CSU, which will house interdisciplinary energy, environment and health programs, the university announced today.
The $69 million, 122,000-square-foot building is being built at the southeast corner of Laurel Street and Meridian Avenue.
A groundbreaking ceremony to honor Walter Scott and his wife Suzanne, who is donating the money with her husband, will be held at 4:30 p.m. today.
A civil engineering CSU alumnus, Scott has supported the CSU College of Engineering for decades. For 29 years, the Walter Scott Jr. Scholarship Endowment at CSU has provided about 18 students a year with financial support.
CSU president Tony Frank said the $10 million gift will have a lasting impact on students who will study biomedical, energy and environmental programs in the new facility.
“We are grateful for the Scotts’ passionate support of this unique learning model and their commitment to excellence in support of this unique learning model and their commitment to excellence,” said Frank.
Unlike most engineering colleges, which construct buildings for each discipline, the Engineering II structure will focus on solving global challenges through interdisciplinary collaboration, said Sandra Woods, dean of the College of Engineering.
The 40 faculty members at the new building will teach biomedical engineering; bioanalytic devices (such as sensors to detect tuberculous or cancer); synthetic biology (to solve problems related to the environment, health and energy), and environmental engineering.
Additional support for the building has come from the Gates Family Foundation and Denver residents and CSU alumni Don and Susie Law, who provided $500,000 in initial funding for architectural design. The College of Engineering will open the Don and Susie Law Student Success Center in the new building to provide students a place for advising, career development and other support programs.
The Gates Family Foundation committed $1 million to the project.Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
