Skip to main content

Connecticut College awarded $200k grant for new Science Center from the Booth Ferris Foundation

NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Booth Ferris Foundation has awarded Connecticut College a $200,000 grant to support the construction of the new Science Center at New London Hall. The foundation's primary interest is capital and capacity-building projects, especially at smaller colleges and public institutions. Construction for the $20 million-plus Science Center project began in May and is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2012. The facility will feature state-of-the-art labs and classrooms and will include a new greenhouse and precision-controlled systems for experiments.

The building will house the computer science, biology and botany programs. The renovations include a 6,500-net-square-foot addition that will expand the amount of space for research and teaching by 28 percent. Labs and classrooms will be connected and there will be social areas for faculty and students to talk, study and relax - making it easier for students to collaborate and solve problems with each other and with their professors. The Center will anchor a "Science Triangle" with the nearby F.W. Olin Science Center and Hale Laboratory, which house the College's other science programs.

The Booth Ferris Foundation was established in 1957 by Willis H. Booth and his wife, Chancie Ferris Booth. Since that time, the foundation has awarded approximately $281 million in grants. For more information, go to http://foundationcenter.org/grantmaker/boothferris/. The renovation of the Science Center at New London Hall is funded through the Campaign for Connecticut College with leadership gifts from the Sherman Fairchild Foundation as well as other foundations, alumni and parents.



September 12, 2011