Combined Total Of $20 Million In Gifts From The Gianforte Family Foundation

On Dec 14, 2016

Stevens Institute of Technology announced that alumnus Greg Gianforte ’83, M.S ’83, H.ENG. ’12, made history once again at his Hoboken-based alma mater with another $10 million gift to name the Gianforte Academic Center, a new state-of-the-art interdisciplinary educational and research facility dedicated to technological innovation.  This gift augments the previous $10 million gift made by the Gianforte Family Foundation in 2012, making the combined total of $20 million the largest gift to a single project in university history.

Gianforte and his wife, Susan, are philanthropists and longtime supporters of the University.

“Susan and Greg Gianforte have made yet another transformational gift to Stevens,” said Dr. Nariman Farvardin, president of Stevens.  “They invested in the future of Stevens in 2012 with a $10 million gift that jump-started our fundraising efforts and provided critical momentum to our planned academic building.  With this additional gift, Susan and Greg have demonstrated their confidence in Stevens and the impact the university will have in the future.  I and the entire Stevens community are so grateful for their leadership, commitment, and extraordinary generosity.”

The new 89,950 square-foot, two-building facility which will be completed in 2019, will provide academic space and research laboratories to further advance research and education in areas of significant societal need, such as healthcare and medicine, sustainable energy, financial systems defense and security, and STEM education, supporting the fulfillment of the Stevens strategic plan.

Located on the northeast and southeast corners of Hudson and Sixth Street, the Gianforte Academic Center is slated to add 17 smart classrooms, 6 advanced labs and 45 faculty offices, plus house the Department of Computer Science, an array of laboratories in healthcare technology, including the Semcer Tissue Engineering Lab, a Digital Learning Lab, and the Prototyping Manufacturing Facility.

“Susan and I know a winner when we see one,” Gianforte said.  “The incredible ascent that Stevens has experienced over the last five years is truly remarkable.  We consider this additional gift as an investment in an organization that is making a difference—for its graduates who go on to launch and lead companies, for an economy that is driven by technological innovation, and for a society that benefits from the research taking place at Stevens.  Susan and I are pleased that our gift will be a catalyst for Stevens and the important work the university is doing.”

Gianforte earned his B.E. in Electrical Engineering and M.S. in Computer Science from Stevens in 1983.  After graduation, Greg was elected as a young alumni trustee to the Board of Trustees.  He has also been a member of the Edwin A. Stevens Society, the leadership giving society at Stevens, every year since graduation.  He has been an entrepreneur and innovator in the computer networking and software industries and customer experience market. In 2012, he sold RightNow Technologies – the cloud-based customer service and support solutions company he founded and led – to Oracle for $1.8 billion.

Gianforte currently serves on the board of several companies and foundations and he is the managing director of the Bozeman Technology Incubator and chairman of Petra Academy. He and his wife Susan founded the Gianforte Family Foundation in 2005.

An industry leader and sought after speaker, Gianforte gave the keynote address at the university’s 2012 Commencement ceremony and accepted an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree.

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