BAE SYSTEMS Gives UNH $1 Million for Center for Advanced Technology
Gift to help fund expansion and renovation of Kingsbury Hall

Contact: Robert Emro
603-862-3102
UNH College of Engineering and Physical Sciences

Sept. 4, 2003



DURHAM, N.H. – The University of New Hampshire Foundation has announced a $1 million gift from the Nashua unit of BAE SYSTEMS to establish an advanced technology center at UNH’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS).

“With this generous gift, we usher in a new industry-university partnership that will enhance engineering education at the University of New Hampshire and promote stronger research and development ties between UNH and one of the world’s leading companies with important ties to New Hampshire,” said UNH President Ann Weaver Hart. “BAE SYSTEMS has taken a clear leadership role in advancing the effectiveness of long-term partnerships to the benefit of all. We are incredibly pleased and excited about our future working relationship with BAE SYSTEMS.”

The BAE SYSTEMS gift will help fund the expansion and renovation of Kingsbury Hall, home to CEPS, where the BAE SYSTEMS Center for Advanced Technology will be located. The center will utilize the same interdisciplinary approaches used by BAE SYSTEMS, familiarizing UNH students with the collaborative engineering process increasingly found throughout the high-tech sector. The center also will provide an opportunity to introduce UNH’s best and brightest engineering students to career options at BAE SYSTEMS’ Nashua-based Information and Electronic Warfare Systems (IEWS) unit.

“ BAE SYSTEMS views this as a significant investment in the future of the University of New Hampshire’s College of Engineering and Physical Sciences. We believe this donation is good for education, and good for New Hampshire. It’s also ultimately good for our company, because UNH provides more talented young engineers starting careers with IEWS than almost any other college or university,” IEWS President Walt Havenstein said. “As we and other top businesses support the college, we’re also helping to underpin New Hampshire’s technological future. We are delighted to assist with this greatly needed renovation, and pleased to be partnering with UNH and its future premier engineering students.”

Kingsbury Hall was hailed as a triumph of engineering and architecture when it opened its doors in 1951, but while UNH has taken its place among top-tier research universities, the aging building has become obsolete. The new Kingsbury will be a home for 21st century teaching, learning and research. BAE SYSTEMS’ support for the project is indicative of growing interaction between the engineering firm’s Nashua unit and UNH, notably including the Whittemore School of Business and Economics, as well as CEPS.

“ BAE’s support will help the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences bring its physical setting in line with the high-quality education and outstanding research that it has become known for,” CEPS Dean Arthur Greenberg said. “With completely new labs, the addition of space for hands-on student projects and improved air circulation, our new building will strengthen and support the excellent work that has been ongoing within the walls of Kingsbury Hall for the past half century.”

Two years ago, the state legislature funded $44 million of the $53.8 million Kingsbury expansion and renovation project through KEEP NH, a $100 million capital improvements initiative. The UNH Foundation is raising the remaining funds from private donations and, according to Young Dawkins III, president of the foundation, the BAE gift represents the largest gift toward that goal to date. “The Kingsbury project is another wonderful example of how UNH effectively partners state appropriations with private gifts to make available the best possible education for our students,” Dawkins said.

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