The CU Board of Regents announced today that Woody and Leslie Eaton have donated $5 million toward the support of CU-Boulder聮s new Humanities Building at the College of Arts and Sciences.
"This is a tremendous commitment in support of CU-Boulder and the College of Arts and Sciences," said Chancellor Richard Byyny. "We聮re very appreciative of this gift and what it means for the new Humanities Building, as well as for the college. The Eaton聮s loyalty and generosity to CU-Boulder is a great example to us all."
In honor of the Eaton聮s gift, the new Humanities Building will be named the "Eaton Humanities Building," as approved by the Board of Regents this morning.
"We're fortunate to have friends like the Eatons, who recognize that for CU to be included in the selective list of world-class universities, we must be strong in the humanities as well as in the natural sciences, social sciences and the arts," said Peter Spear, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "It also is wonderful that members of the Boulder community have made such a generous contribution to the university."
The gift will cover a portion of the cost of construction of the humanities building and be used as an endowment for the College of Arts and Sciences.
The Eatons are long-time supporters of the university through a number of gifts and contributions to a myriad of volunteer efforts. Both Leslie and Woody graduated from the University of Colorado in the mid-聭60s in Arts and Sciences. Woody also holds a DDS degree from the University of California at San Francisco and one of the Eaton聮s three sons, Jordon, also graduated from CU in 1997, in kinesiology.
"We聮ve always had a passionate commitment to both the university and the Boulder community," said Woody Eaton. "It聮s our strong desire that this donation may serve as a catalyst in bringing even more support from the local community, and further, that we can raise the awareness of the importance of mutual cooperation between the university and our community."
Woody Eaton is a real estate investor and retired dentist. He was a founder of the National Bank of the Rockies, now Vectra Bank, and is a current director of the Bank of Cherry Creek. Woody is a past board member of the CU Alumni Association.
Leslie Eaton is a board member of the CU Foundation, former member of the CU Student Affairs Advisory Board and a volunteer fundraiser for the CU Foundation. She also chaired the Colorado Music Festival fund raiser and served on the parent board of Boulder High School. She was president of the Boulder Community Hospital Auxiliary and is still on Community Hospital聮s foundation board.
The Eatons previously established the Henry and Leslie Eaton Scholarship for financially deserving Boulder High School graduates to attend CU, and also made a gift to CU to honor Eva Eaton, Woody聮s mother and a retired CU department of economics staff member.
The new Humanities Building was dedicated in November 1999 and contains high-technology "smart" classrooms and lecture halls, as well as faculty office space for four departments including French and Italian, classics, religious studies and East Asian languages and civilizations.
CU-Boulder聮s "Campaign for Colorado" fundraising initiative is in its fourth year. More than $175 million has been raised toward the $297 million goal.