Bluffton chamber members last week learned first-hand about Bluffton University’s $26 million Simply Innovate campaign launched in September.

The campaign was introduced to chamber members during the Nov. 11 chamber breakfast, attended by over 60 persons.

Dr. James Harder, Bluffton University president, told those attending the breakfast that the Simply Innovate tagline describes Bluffton University’s faculty, staff and campus community.

In its September Simply Innovate launch, the university also announced a $1-million gift from Greg and Donna Wannemacher.

In February, the university announced the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation of Cincinnati, committed a $4-million gift toward construction of a new science building on campus, which is part of the campaign. This gift was the largest in the school’s history.

Harder told the chamber that a 2014 university facilities master plan process identified a new science center as the top priority for new academic facilities.

Campaign goals, spelled out at the chamber breakfast, include:
• $14.5 million for the Austin E. Knowlton science building
• $5.5 million in annual support for the next five years
• $5 million to strengthen Bluffton’s endowment with long-term support for student scholarships, faculty research and student discovery
• $1 million innovation goal to support new academic program development, faculty-student research and interdisciplinary initiatives that enrich learning for students in the natural and applied sciences and for all students

Knowlton Foundation gift
“The Austin E. Knowlton Science Center will be more than a science building. It will be a place that inspires, with programs designed for contemporary learning and faculty that create a meaningful and relevant student-learning experience,” said Harder.

“The building will transform science education at Bluffton so that the university can prepare leaders equipped to address the pressing science, technology, math and health care needs of the region.”

The $14.5 million, 32,500-square-foot science center will feature 10 energy- efficient, high-tech learning labs for biology, chemistry, physics and dietetics, all designed for hands-on-experimentation.

All labs will be equipped with digital technology and A/V to integrate instruction with experiments. The project architects are SoL Harris/Day (Executive Architects-North Canton, Ohio) and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (Design Architects-Pittsburgh).

The center include three classrooms designed for science instruction plus 15 faculty offices and adjacent learning/study spaces to enhance student-faculty interaction.

Public spaces will be designed for students and visitors to experience science in action with views into all labs and an accessible green roof area. The building will also serve as home to academic programs in the natural and applied sciences including biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and dietetics.