Engineering building receives boost from former Chrysler chairman

Chrysler Corp. Chairman Emeritus and retired DaimlerChrysler AG Chairman Robert J. Eaton has pledged $5 million for a building to expand KU’s School of Engineering facilities.

Eaton, mechanical engineering ‘63, will give $4 million in cash to the KU Endowment Association for the building, which will be dedicated in November. The Arkansas City native also pledged an additional $1 million, to be paid over four years.

The combined total is expected to be matched with $130,000 from ChevronTexaco Corp., International Paper Co. and DaimlerChrysler. The building will be named for Eaton.

The 80,000-square-foot building will consolidate all academic programs — including the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science — into the engineering complex. The $15 million project, which will be finished in time for the fall semester, includes a multimedia classroom, several state-of-the-art instructional and computer laboratories, an atrium, the Engineering Career Services Center and the school’s administrative offices. It is located at the corner of Naismith Drive and 15th Street.