NEW: Brown Announces $44 Million in Gifts for School of Engineering
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Brown University has announced today that new gifts totaling $44 million have launched a $160-million campaign for the School of Engineering. The gifts will enable the University to move forward with plans to improve and expand facilities and support the growth of the School of Engineering.
The gifts, which have been formally accepted by the Brown Corporation, include lead gifts totaling $35 million from venture capitalist Theresia Gouw, a 1990 Brown graduate and a fellow of the Corporation of Brown University, and from Managing Director of Silver Lake Partners Charles H. Giancarlo, a Brown trustee and 1979 graduate, and Dianne G. Giancarlo.
An additional $9 million has been given by donors who wish to remain anonymous. Gouw’s gift honors Barrett Hazeltine, renowned professor of engineering emeritus at Brown, who inspired Gouw while she pursued her bachelor’s degree in engineering.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“These generous donors recognize the crucial role engineering and technology leaders play in addressing global challenges,” said Brown President Christina Paxson. “On behalf of the entire Brown community, I thank them for their enormous generosity and unwavering support of the growth of engineering at Brown.”
The $160-million campaign will enable the University to move forward with plans to improve and expand facilities for the growth of the School of Engineering. Current goals of the campaign include:
• construction of new teaching and research facilities adjacent to existing buildings;
• creation of a Center for Entrepreneurship;
• addition of 15 new faculty for a total of 60;
• development of innovative undergraduate and graduate educational programs;
• renovation of current classroom and laboratory space
(Read more about University planning for campus development).
“Brown is such a special place that has created wonderful opportunities for so many, including for me. I feel very fortunate to have gone from a first-generation immigrant on financial aid to being in a position to support the school that has been so significant in shaping my life and career,” said Gouw, a managing partner in the venture capital firm Accel Partners. “I am delighted to join with others to support the school’s growth and continued commitment to cultivating creative thinkers and leaders. I am particularly pleased to honor Barrett Hazeltine, who has made an enduring difference in the lives of so many students he has taught, mentored, and inspired over the course of his career.”
Barrett Hazeltine came to Brown in 1959 and has continued to teach classes since moving to emeritus status in 2000. His classes on engineering management and entrepreneurship have long been among the most popular on campus — a prime example of the school’s emphasis on entrepreneurship as a way to bring engineering solutions out of the lab and into people’s lives.
“It’s a great honor to be recognized in Theresia’s gift,” Hazeltine said. “The spirit of entrepreneurship and social action possessed by Brown students is genuinely remarkable. My thanks to Theresia for a gift that will build on this spirit and benefit generations of future students.”
Brown’s program in engineering was established in 1847, making it the oldest such program in the Ivy League. Brown currently has approximately 45 full-time, tenure-track faculty members in engineering.
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