COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. A Denver-based family foundation will provide $290,000 toward the construction of a new science and engineering complex at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, university officials announced today.
The trustees of Boettcher Foundation, Denver, have agreed to grant $290,000 to UCCS in support of the university’s effort to construct a new, $38 million science and engineering complex.
“We are greatly appreciative of the Boettcher Family Foundation’s support of our efforts to improve education in the specific areas of science and engineering,” Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak said. “We are pleased to be a part of the foundation’s commitment to the future of Colorado.”
Tim Schultz, president and executive director, Boettcher Family Foundation said: “The foundation’s trustees are pleased to support the efforts by UCCS and its goal to create world-class scientists and engineers and to study issues affecting Colorado.”
The grant will be distributed over a period of up to three years beginning with the groundbreaking for the complex. Construction may begin in late 2006.
In creating the complex through an effort called “Partners for Change,” UCCS aims to create an interdisciplinary focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The university has identified several goals for the project including increasing the number of science and engineering graduates, providing life-long learning opportunities for individuals currently working in science and engineering fields, and helping middle and high school teachers excite students about careers in science.
Construction of a state-of-the-art science and engineering complex is a cornerstone to the effort to improve education by bringing together leading educators and researchers in such fields as biology, chemistry, computer science, physics and mathematics. The proposed location for the new complex is adjacent to the university’s existing Engineering Building on what is now a parking lot.
In addition to creating space for new ideas, the science and engineering complex will add instructional capacity for current and future students. Current UCCS science laboratories were constructed in the early 1980s, prior to the addition of the Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences and rapid enrollment growth.
The Boettcher Foundation is a privately endowed grant-making organization dedicated to assisting, encouraging and promoting the residents of the state of Colorado.
Created in 1937 by Claude K. Boettcher and his father, Charles Boettcher, the Boettcher Foundation is a corporation for charitable and benevolent purposes and not for financial profit.
UCCS, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 25 bachelor’s degrees, 17 master’s and two doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 7,800 students annually.