Mary Morton Parsons Foundation Grant Will Help Expand Gottwald Science Center at University of Richmond
February 28, 2003
A $300,000 challenge grant from the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation will help the University of Richmond expand and renovate its Gottwald Science Center.
The university recently raised $600,000 in required matching funds from trustees, parents and corporate friends in order to qualify for the grant.
Groundbreaking on the $36 million building project is scheduled for May, in line with Richmond's plans for $60 million in science program improvements. The expanded and updated facilities will place special emphasis on material science, environmental science and the social interest, neuroscience, biological chemistry and nuclear and particle physics.
Built in 1976, Gottwald has 162,000 square feet of space. The additional 28,000 square feet will include an atrium and laboratories designed to break down barriers between classroom and laboratory with built-in "chalk-talk" gathering spaces for formal and informal discussion. It also will include the latest technology and research equipment, according to Richmond's president, William E. Cooper.
"Once the renovation and expansion are complete, our students will learn in a top-notch facility as full partners in programs steeped in hands-on research, grounded in practical applications and positioned at the center of scientific discovery," said Cooper.
Einhorn, Yaffee, Prescott, the architectural firm that designed the new science centers at Williams and Swarthmore colleges, will design the addition and renovations. The first phase of construction should be completed by August, the entire project by August 2005.
The university's science initiative previously received $700,000 from the National Science Foundation for new instrumentation.