Vermont’s Pizzagalli Foundation has made a $1 million gift commitment to support the University of Vermont’s $104 million STEM project, the largest capital project in the school’s history.UVM’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) facility will be a state-of-the-art complex of labs, classrooms and research spaces that will transform the university’s Central Campus and fulfill a promising new interdisciplinary academic vision for UVM. Work on the 266,000 square-foot project begins in the spring of 2015 and will be completed by 2018.
“We are thrilled that the Pizzagalli family is strongly supportive of UVM’s STEM project, including its new lab and classroom facility” said UVM president Tom Sullivan. “With this $1 million gift, we are confident that we will be successful in realizing this most important new educational and research facility on campus.”
Sullivan announced the gift at the winter meeting on February6 of the university’s Board of Trustees where the building project was given final approval.
In recognition of the generous gift, the large lecture hall in the STEM facility will be named in honor of the Pizzagalli family.
The Pizzagalli Foundation was formed by brothers James, Remo and Angelo Pizzagalli in Burlington, Vermont, in 1988. They are the founders of PC Construction (formerly Pizzagalli Construction), which was sold to employees of the firm in 2009, making it one of the largest employee-owned construction companies in the U.S. James and Angelo Pizzagalli are UVM alumni and former members of the university’s Board of Trustees. Both men served terms as trustee chairs, and all three brothers and their families have provided generous philanthropic support to the university and other Vermont-based educational and community organizations for decades.
“The educational concentrations of study being offered by the university’s STEM faculties, and which will be enhanced by this building, are just the kind of real-world skills that graduates need to compete in our increasingly technological world,” said James Pizzagalli.“We are delighted to join with others in helping to make this transformational project a reality. We congratulate President Tom Sullivan for his leadership in bringing this project to its launching point.”
STEM Project
The university is committed to raising $26 million of the $104 million project cost from non-debt sources. To date, nearly $5 million has been raised for the project.The University of Vermont’s largest-ever capital project will bring a state-of-the-art complex of labs, classrooms and research facilities to campus starting in 2016 and establish a promising new academic and economic development vision for UVM.
The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Initiative is a $104 million project that will match employers’ growing need for skilled graduates with the increasing number of STEM students attracted to UVM. The STEM project’s new construction and renovation will total more than 250,000 square feet. An expected $26 million will be raised through non-debt sources, including private donations.
“As Vermont’s premier public research university, we have an obligation to step up – and we are both prepared and excited to do so,’’ Provost David Rosowsky told UVM’s Board of Trustees in early 2014, shortly before they granted preliminary approval for the project. “We must commit to making UVM a comprehensive, engaging, compelling and impactful public research university.” The project is already attracting interest from donors, with Richard Barrett ’66 and his wife Elaine making a recent $1 million commitment.
Located in the heart of campus behind University Row, the STEM Complex project consists of three buildings -- a replacement for the outdated Cook Physical Science Building, a new teaching and laboratory building and a renovated Votey Hall. The buildings will be designed to create an atmosphere that is inviting and inclusive; one that welcomes and compels every member of our community to make a connection with the facility and the work it inspires. All construction would be completed by 2018.
The STEM Initiative will create a new physical and intellectual “spine” linking all corners of central campus. Nestled between existing arts, humanities and social sciences facilities and the health sciences branch of campus, the buildings will entice and encourage communication and connection across a broad range of disciplines.
Soruce: UVM 2.11.2015. For more information, go to:http://alumni.uvm.edu/foundation/stem/http://www.uvm.edu/~arch/?Page=projects/stem.html&SM=currentprojectmenu.html. PHOTO: Artist rendering of STEM building looking southwest courtesy of UVM.