Alumnus Edward St. John donates $10 million to U. of Maryland for new high-tech classroom building
The Baltimore Sun
September 15, 2011
Baltimore developer Edward St. John has donated $10 million to the University of Maryland, College Park to help his alma mater build a new high-tech classroom building in the heart of campus.
The proposed Edward St. John Teaching and Learning Center would offer 2,000 classroom seats and be used daily by one-third of the campus' undergraduates. It would address a serious shortage of modern classroom space on the state's flagship campus, said President Wallace D. Loh.
"Instruction as we've known it for the last 20 or 30 years will be different with this building," Loh said. "It's going to be technology-rich, it's going to be interactive, and students will learn in teams."
Loh said the new space is especially important given projected enrollment growth at College Park over the next decade, as the state tries to increase its percentage of citizens completing college degrees.
For construction on the $63 million building to move forward, the General Assembly would have to approve almost $48 million in funding in the 2013 state budget. Gov. Martin O'Malley included the center in his projected budget. It is unclear when the building might open.
