University of Delaware Office of Public Relations The Messenger Vol. 5, No. 1/1995 Recognition: A Special Report UD Receives $500,000 Challenge Grant From Kresge Foundation For Renovation And Expansion Of Colburn Laboratory The Kresge Foundation has awarded $500,000 to the University of Delaware for the renovation and expansion of the Allan P. Colburn Laboratory Building, home of the UD's nationally ranked Department of Chemical Engineering. The challenge grant requires the University to raise an additional $1.25 million in matching funds by Nov. 1, 1996. The grant will support the University's $22 million renovation and expansion of the laboratory on the Newark campus. The state of Delaware has committed $15 million, and the University is raising the remaining $7 million through private gifts and grants, of which this latest grant is a part. "This grant from the Kresge Foundation provides the University's alumni and friends with a powerful incentive to complete the Colburn Campaign by next fall," University President David P. Roselle said. "The University is deeply grateful to the Kresge Foundation for its generous and continuing support and encouragement of our efforts. An earlier grant of $350,000 for our Bob Carpenter Sports/Convocation Center gave our alumni and friends a rallying point, and we finished that campaign ahead of schedule and above goal." The renovation project, which began in November 1993, is scheduled for completion next summer. The existing building will have been completely remodeled and an additional 40,000 square feet of space will have been added. This is the first significant improvement to Colburn Laboratory since it opened 28 years ago. State-of-the-art laboratory facilities are essential to the research and teaching efforts of the Department of Chemical Engineering, consistently ranked among the top 10 in the country. The expansion project has two phases. The first phase, completed this summer, involved extending all four floors of Colburn Laboratory, to provide laboratory, office and support areas and a major utility service chase. The second phase, now under way, involves the renovation of the existing laboratories within Colburn Laboratory and the consolidation of faculty and administrative offices. The Kresge Foundation is an independent, private foundation created by the personal gifts of Sebastian S. Kresge and is not affiliated with any corporation or organization. In 1994, the foundation reviewed 718 proposals and awarded grants totaling $57,369,686 to 145 organizations in 36 states and the District of Columbia. Grants are made to institutions operating in the areas of higher education, health and long-term care, arts and humanities, human services, science and the environment and public affairs. The foundation makes grants toward projects involving construction or renovation of facilities and the purchase of major capital equipment or real estate. Grant recipients have raised initial funds toward their respective projects before requesting foundation assistance. Grants are then made on a challenge basis, requiring the raising of remaining funds, thereby insuring the completion of the projects. The UD Department of Chemical Engineering, which is a primary source of external research support for the University, covers all the classic areas of the discipline, as well as new research and educational thrusts, such as biochemical engineering, electronic materials processing, colloid and interfacial science of complex fluids and advanced computational methods. The department faculty, which numbers 22, has established national and international reputations through their research and their authorship of widely used textbooks. Five of them are members of the National Academy of Engineering and eight are Presidential Young Investigator Award recipients. Currently, 280 undergraduates and 112 graduate students are enrolled in the department.