The 天美影视传媒 celebrated two major fundraising and construction milestones on Wednesday for the Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering, which will allow the UW to double its annual computer science and engineering degree production, offer an unparalleled education to more of Washington鈥檚 students and grow its high impact research programs.
The UW Board of Regents voted in聽October to name , after Microsoft and a group of their longtime friends and colleagues joined to contribute more than $30 million in the couple鈥檚 honor. On Wednesday, the university announced a separate $15 million gift from Bill and Melinda Gates that brings fundraising for the $110 million building to a close.
鈥淭his new building is vital to Washington,鈥� said Microsoft President Brad Smith, who spearheaded the fundraising campaign. 鈥淢ore than 300 donors contributed to the project because they believe in the importance of preparing students for not just today鈥檚 world, but tomorrow鈥檚. Bill and Melinda Gates’ generous gift concludes the fundraising effort for a facility that will benefit the Allen School, the UW, the Puget Sound region and the world.鈥�
Smith 鈥� who, with his wife Kathy Surace-Smith, is a member of the 鈥淔riends of Bill & Melinda鈥� who enabled the building to be named in the Gateses鈥� honor 鈥� will be joined by roughly 300 of his fellow donors, friends and other members of the Paul G. Allen School for Computer Science & Engineering community Wednesday at a 鈥渢opping out鈥� ceremony, which celebrates the placement of the final steel beam at the top of the structure. The topping out comes at roughly the halfway point in construction and marks the start of work on the enclosure and interior of the building.
When the Bill & Melinda Gates Center opens in early 2019, it will feature an undergraduate commons that will serve as a 鈥渉ome away from home鈥� for the more than 1,000 undergraduates enrolled in the major; a state-of-the-art robotics laboratory; a wet lab for leading-edge research at the intersection of computing and biology; and much-needed classroom, office and collaboration spaces 鈥� to name only a few highlights. The 135,000- square-foot building is located across the street from the existing Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering at the heart of the UW鈥檚 Seattle campus.
鈥淚鈥檓 especially excited about the opportunities that this building will create for women in computer science. That鈥檚 an area where the Paul G. Allen School has excelled, and an area where I hope this new building will enable women to do even more,鈥� said Melinda Gates.
鈥淭his is a special honor, because the 天美影视传媒 is a special place to me. Melinda and I are thrilled to be able to support this world-class institution in various ways. Thank you to everyone who made this building possible. I鈥檓 excited about what it will mean for the university and our entire community,鈥� said Bill Gates.
Like the Paul G. Allen Center, the new Bill & Melinda Gates Center was funded through a public-private partnership. In addition to the contributions from Microsoft and couples who contributed as the 鈥淔riends of Bill & Melinda,鈥� Amazon, Zillow, Google, the Washington state Legislature and more than 350 friends and alumni supported the Allen School鈥檚 expansion.
The topping out ceremony caps a banner year for Computer Science & Engineering at the UW. After breaking ground on the new building at the start of 2017, the program marked its 50th anniversary in March by , celebrated its first graduating class as a school in June and announced the naming of the Bill & Melinda Gates Center in August.
鈥淭his has been a transformational year for the Allen School and for the University鈥檚 ability to prepare students 鈥� whether they鈥檙e majoring in CSE or in another discipline 鈥� to be successful in our technological world. That鈥檚 going to pay dividends for them, and for our state and nation, and we have our many generous friends to thank for this progress,鈥� said UW President Ana Mari Cauce.
With major fundraising for the building complete, the school will focus the remainder of its on increasing support for students to ensure a world-class computer science education remains within reach regardless of background or means; graduate fellowships and professorships that will enable the program to attract the best and brightest research talent and educators to our state and region; and strategic investment in entrepreneurial research.
The Campaign for CSE is part of the University鈥檚 most ambitious campaign in history, 鈥�Be Boundless鈥擣or Washington, For the World,鈥� that seeks to raise $5 billion by 2020.
For more information, contact Ed Lazowska at lazowska@cs.washington.edu.