Investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen has given $14 million to the 91探花 to ensure the completion of a new facility for the university鈥檚 nationally ranked Department of Computer Science & Engineering, officials announced this evening.
The Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering, currently under construction on the 91探花campus, will more than double the space available for the program when it opens in summer 2003. Sixty percent of the funding for the project is being raised privately; other major donors include Allen鈥檚 boyhood friend and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates (through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation), Microsoft Corp. itself, and several dozen individuals and organizations from the region鈥檚 technology and venture capital communities.
鈥淏ill and I got a big part of our start in computer science at the 91探花 when we were still students at Lakeside School,鈥� Allen said. 鈥� 91探花Computer Science & Engineering is an engine of opportunity and we want to help make sure it鈥檚 an even more cutting-edge resource for the coming generation.鈥�
91探花President Richard L. McCormick called the gift a generous investment in the region鈥檚 educational and economic future.
鈥淲e are very grateful to Paul for his support and trust in us,鈥� McCormick said. 鈥淗istorically, 91探花CSE has been a major driver of technology in the region. Paul鈥檚 gift, as well as the gifts from the Gates Foundation, Microsoft and our other supporters will pay dividends for the entire state far into the future.鈥�
Ed Lazowska, the Bill & Melinda Gates Chair in Computer Science at the 91探花and head of the department from 1993 to 2001, agreed, saying the gift will provide the means to keep the 91探花program among the nation鈥檚 best.
鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly grateful to Paul, to Bill and the Gates Foundation, and to all our other donors for providing us with the tools to remain competitive,鈥� Lazowska said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e consistently ranked among the top ten programs in the nation at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, but we鈥檝e been operating with less than half the space of comparable programs at a time when the field is becoming more laboratory-intensive and student demand and intellectual opportunity are greater than ever.鈥�
The building will provide 75,000 square feet of new space for the Department of Computer Science & Engineering and an additional 10,000 square feet of space for the university鈥檚 Department of Electrical Engineering. Laboratory space for Computer Science & Engineering will triple. The result, according to Lazowska, will be greater success in recruiting top students and faculty, and education and research programs that better reflect the experimental and interdisciplinary nature of the cutting edge of the field.
Allen鈥檚 gift brings the total in private support for the building to $37 million. That, with $30 million in institutional and state money, puts the $72 million building within reach. But the fund-raising drive has further to go, officials say 鈥� a viable, vibrant program includes more than bricks and mortar.
鈥淭he Computer Science & Engineering campaign also includes $3 million in technology for the building and $20 million in endowments for scholarships, fellowships and professorships to attract top students and faculty,鈥� Lazowska said. 鈥淭hese components are essential for our program to hold its place among the nation鈥檚 best and to continue to energize the regional economy. Our friends and alumni have already contributed $7 million toward this part of the effort, and we鈥檙e confident they will help us finish the campaign.鈥�
The CSE fundraising campaign is led by Tom Alberg (Madrona Venture Group) and Jeremy Jaech ( 91探花CSE alumnus and co-founder of Aldus and Visio). Thus far, the campaign has raised more than $15 million in addition to the gifts from Allen, Gates, and Microsoft.
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About Paul G. Allen
Investor and philanthropist Paul G. Allen owns and invests in a suite of companies that change and improve the way people live, learn, do business and experience the world. Holdings span software, hardware, telecommunications, biotechnology, and new media, and include Charter Communications, DreamWorks SKG, digeo, Wink, TechTV and more than 50 other companies. Allen owns the Seattle Seahawks NFL and Portland Trail Blazers NBA franchises, and is the founder of independent film production company Clear Blue Sky Productions – behind such critically-acclaimed feature and documentary projects as THE BLUES (currently in production with Martin Scorsese), TITUS (directed by Julie Taymor) and the EVOLUTION project, co-produced with the WGBH/NOVA Science Unit for PBS. He founded the Experience Music Project museum in Seattle, The Hospital Project 鈥� a music, art and film center in London 鈥� and gives back to the community through the six Paul G. Allen Foundations in the areas of the arts, health and human services, medical research, forest protection and more. Allen is chairman of Vulcan Inc. of Seattle, which manages his personal and business projects, including a range of high-impact initiatives around the world. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975, served as the company鈥檚 chief technologist until leaving the company in 1983, and remains Microsoft鈥檚 second-largest shareholder. Learn more online at .
About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is dedicated to improving people鈥檚 lives by sharing advances in health and learning with the global community. Led by Bill Gates鈥� father, William H. Gates, Sr., and Patty Stonesifer, the Seattle-based foundation has an asset base of $24.2 billion. For complete information, visit .
For more information, contact Lazowska at (206) 499-0303 (cell) or lazowska@cs.washington.edu. The media contact for Allen is Jason Hunke, (206) 342-2000 or jasonh@vulcan.com.
More information about the new building, including a watercolor of the finished project and photographs of Allen, Gates, Gov. Gary Locke and 91探花leaders celebrating the naming of the building, can be found at the following locations:
Architectural renderings, sketches and a high-resolution watercolor of the Allen Center for CSE:
Photographs of Allen, Gates and 91探花leaders include a shot of Allen and Gates reminiscing about their Lakeside School days, coming to the 91探花campus to use computers. From the left are 91探花Dean of Engineering Denice Denton; Ark Chin, president of the 91探花Board of Regents; Locke; Gates; Allen; Lazowska; and McCormick: .
Also available is an image of the group viewing a watercolor of the finished project. From left are Denton, Chin, Locke, Gates, McCormick, Allen and Lazowska: .
91探花CSE building page: