Editor's note: This semester, the Neag School of Education celebrates 25 years as a Neag School and will publish a series of articles documenting the impact Ray and Carol Neag have had on the school. This article is his second in a series.
Ray and Carol Neag's generosity to the School of Education not only impacted its faculty and students, but also transformed its physical space. Her groundbreaking $21 million gift from Neags in 1999 sparked her extensive two-phase addition to the Gentry Building, the school's home on the Storrs campus.
Located on Glenbrook Road, the Gentry Building was originally built in 1960. The building is named for Charles B. Gentry, who served as head of the teacher training department until 1940, when the department became the School of Education, and held the post of teacher training. He served as dean, and from 1921 until 1940 he served twice as acting president of the university.
More than 40 years after its original construction, and just two years after the Niegs family's gift, the building received a $10 million addition. Funded by his state's UConn 2000 budget, his 21st Century UConn budget, and privately raised funds, his 20,000-square-foot wing was added to the west side of the building.
Prior to this construction project, Gentry Building faced environmental challenges, and the School of Education's faculty and classes were spread out across multiple buildings. The number of individuals supported by grants has recently doubled, but there was no space for them to work. The new building brought new opportunities, including the addition of offices. Flexible space for meetings and classes. high tech room. and the vast atrium that is now the center of the school. When completed, the Gentry Building became the first wireless building at the University of Constance.
From the outside, the new building follows green building practices while creating a fresh architectural image for the campus. The Gentry Building and the nearby Lowe University Undergraduate Education Center were designed as mirror images of each other when both were built in 1960, and the additions to the twin buildings continued that effect. The sculptural panels on the building's facade are composed of interwoven shapes with words and phrases created using the 12 letters contained in “University of Connecticut.” The sculptor worked with students and faculty from the School of Fine Arts to create a figure that appears to be walking toward the center of campus.
The new wing was dedicated in the fall of 2004 with Ray and Carol Neag in attendance. Their generosity to the school inspired others to financially support the construction project, as well as several spaces in the updated building (the John and Carla Klein classroom for teacher education, the Superintendent's Seminar Room, and Neag School Advisory Committee Room) led to funding and naming. .
“The transformation of this school has been remarkable,” Richard Schwab, then dean of the Neag School, said at the dedication ceremony. “When we began the design phase, our dream was to build a facility with the latest technology that would realize the concept of a learning community: a place that celebrates the past while looking to the future. The University of Connecticut's Mission It is a place that shows the centrality of education to.”
This addition was just the beginning of a two-phase construction project. The second phase, a $10 million renovation and expansion of the original portion of the building, began in May 2009 and concluded in early 2010. Most of it was a reconfiguration to create additional faculty offices and conference rooms.
“The breadth of impact of Ray and Carol Neag's generosity is truly remarkable,” says Dean Jason G. Irizarry. “Their belief in and investment in the School of Education and its mission inspired others to support the school as well, including updating the Gentry Building.” But sometimes our greatest need is to better support our students and faculty. In our case, that's what has helped Neag School become one of the nation's top public schools. It made a huge difference.”
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