On November 30, 2005, OSU received the single largest contribution in its history from a private foundation with the announcement of a $14.8 million gift from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation for OSU’s School of Architecture.

This unprecedented gift is projected to propel the university’s nationally renowned architecture school into one of the premier teaching, recruiting and research architectural schools in the country through the renovation and expansion of its current facility. The new facility will be named the Donald W. Reynolds School of Architecture Building.

“This gift will have a transformational impact on OSU and the School of Architecture,” says Randy Seitsinger, professor and head of the school. “The new building will provide faculty and students spaces to facilitate innovative study and exploration and allow the school to develop new graduate programs in architecture and architectural engineering.”

The nearly $15 million project will create 45,000 square feet of new space and renovate 37,000 square feet of existing space. “We are pleased to be able to reward the excellence of the architecture and architectural engineering programs at OSU,” says Fred W. Smith, chairman of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. “These award-winning students will have a facility that matches their academic programs.”

The building will provide OSU with new campus amenities including a 300-seat auditorium, new multimedia classrooms, a visualization/ computer lab, gallery space and an expanded architectural library. Other new and renovated spaces include design studio space, a model shop and expanded administrative areas to accommodate current and new faculty.

“This new and renovated facility will serve as a gateway to the last sector of the central campus to be developed in keeping with the vision and plan of former OSU President Henry G. Bennett,” says Karl Reid, Dean of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology.
The new building is slated for completion in spring 2009, which will coincide with the School of Architecture’s Centennial Anniversary. It will be one of eleven academic facility projects to begin on OSU’s main campus within the next five years.

“This is an historic gift to OSU and our School of Architecture and will have a huge and lasting impact on our university and our students,” says OSU System CEO and President David J. Schmidly. “The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is a leader in supporting education, and this gift will elevate our Architecture School to new levels of achievement.”

The design process for the future building began with a comprehensive four-day design charrette in April 2004 in which architecture faculty, students and alumni from across the country explored a variety of creative ideas that led to the initial concept for renovations and additions to the buildings.

During the initial phase of the charrette, participants explored a variety of factors to determine the most efficient, well-designed approach to the project that would address needs of both the School of Architecture and the campus community. “We really evaluated how this project could ultimately impact everything around us while still maintaining the integrity of our campus,” Seitsinger says. “For example, teams addressed ways to make the building more energy-efficient and more accessible to the public that would provide a mutually beneficial facility for both the university and the community.”

Architecture professor Jeff Williams believes the faculty and students will benefit equally. “This additional space will also allow us to grow both the faculty and the graduate student population,” he says. “This will allow for more research opportunities and enable us to have a larger group of mentors to further stimulate the activities of the undergraduate program.”

The final design of the facility will be led by OSU architecture faculty working with Studio Architecture from Oklahoma City.
“I believe the decision made by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to support our project was a response to a clear vision of something much greater than a simple expansion of infrastructure,” Reid says.

“During this unprecedented period of investment in OSU, the Donald W. Reynolds School of Architecture Building will stand as a symbol of educational excellence for the state’s university.”

The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is a national philanthropic organization founded in 1954 by the late media entrepreneur for whom it is named. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Nev., it is one of the largest private foundations in the United States.
The university is committed to raising $3 million in additional funding to establish an endowment for the school that will provide funding to keep the facility in first-rate condition into the future. To donate to the future endowment of the Donald W. Reynolds Architecture Building, contact George Wendt at (405) 744- 3747 or gwendt@osuf.org.