News: CCU Announces $6M Science Center Donation

CCU Announces $6M Science Center Donation

The anonymous donation is the second largest in the University's 108-year history

Colorado Christian University, the preeminent Christian liberal arts university in the Rocky Mountain region, is excited to announce a $6 million lead donation to the Science Center Capital Campaign, jump-starting the drive for a permanent home for the School of Science and Engineering in the College of Undergraduate Studies. The gift, made by a donor who wishes to remain anonymous, is the second largest in the University's 108-year history.

"We are incredibly thankful for this generous gift. At CCU we are focused on developing leaders who serve with character and excellence," said Dr. Donald W. Sweeting, president of the University. "This historic gift will further position the University to attract and inspire the next generation of God-honoring scientists, engineers, and health professionals who will influence our world with grace and truth as we move forward with conviction."

The $6 million donation will serve as the catalyst for the February 2022 launch of the Science Center Capital Campaign to fund the construction of a state-of-the-art academic facility for the rapidly expanding School of Science and Engineering. The 2021-22 school year marks the first time that the School of Science and Engineering has the largest enrollment in the College of Undergraduate Studies.

"Colorado Christian University is a Christ-centered institution with the highest standards of academic rigor. This University-changing donation reinforces the importance of Christian leadership in the sciences," said Dr. Mark Parker, dean of the School of Science and Engineering. "The fact-based study of God's creation serves to strengthen and deepen faith. This gift will help the University prepare competent, ethical leaders for the health, sciences, engineering, and education fields."

The donation comes as the University prepares to break ground on the iconic Armstrong Center, the $40 million signature construction on the Lakewood campus. The 60,000-square-foot Armstrong Center will return the School of Music to the main campus and will include a 500-seat theater, the Clifton Fowler Library, production studios, and the University's first dedicated chapel space. The University is in the midst of a campus redevelopment that has seen the construction of two new residence halls, an academic building, and a student center since 2014.

"Colorado Christian University has been blessed by a growing number of generous philanthropic donors and committed University partners. Our donors are simply amazing. They often cite CCU's distinct and compelling, Christ-centered, higher education mission as their passion for giving — and they are so passionate and excited about CCU's impact on this generation's future leaders in the sciences," said Eric Hogue, vice president for Advancement. "This $6 million lead gift, directed toward the rapidly growing School of Science and Engineering and its need of a distinct Science Center, is nothing more than an answer to prayer and another example of God's favor expressed through our amazing donors. We are humbled and blessed — beyond measure."

Additional information about the public phase of the Science Center Capital Campaign will be available February 2022 during the President's Weekend gathering in Laguna Beach, Calif., featuring Dr. Sweeting's guests, including former Vice President Mike Pence, multiple-Dove-Award-winner Steven Curtis Chapman, world-renowned author and minister Alistair Begg, and many others. To learn how you can join the generosity of the $6 million gift ahead of the public phase of the Science Center Capital Campaign, contact Eric Hogue, vice president of Advancement, at 303.963.3093 or ehogue@ccu.edu.