The University of Kentucky has announced plans to build an $18.6 million building to house high-technology research on visualization, computer science and electrical and computer engineering as part of a “Digital Village” complex.
The project will be funded through $9.3 million from private donors, with the remainder coming from the state’s Research Challenge Trust Fund.
“Thanks to generous private support from three great friends of the university, UK is proud to announce its first building to be constructed solely from private donations and the Bucks for Brains matching program,” said UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. “The Digital Village will be UK’s high-tech hub, a center of innovation, creativity and discovery that will be crucial to helping Kentucky create a thriving, knowledge-based economy.”
The Marksbury Family Foundation, created recently by Davis and Beverly Marksbury, is contributing $6 million for the project, which will be named the Davis Marksbury Building, pending approval by UK’s Board of Trustees.
The Davis Marksbury Building, which is Phase 2 of UK’s Digital Village, will provide nearly 25,000 s.f. of space for research activity conducted by faculty in the UK Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Department of Computer Science, all of which are part of the UK College of Engineering.
In other support, $2 million is being given by James F. Hardymon, a longtime UK supporter, a member of the UK Board of Trustees and the primary donor in support of the Hardymon Building, which was Phase 1 of the UK Digital Village.
The Hardymon Building houses research in advanced computer and communications networking and other high-tech research. James McDonald, president and CEO of Scientific Atlanta, is giving $328,000 to support the project. Another $1 million is being sought from a private donor.
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