Augustana has received a $2.5 million donation from the from the Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust for the expansion of the Robert A. and Patricia K. Hanson Hall of Science, which will have construction starting in 2018.
“We’re excited about the [coming] project and this will definitely be something that will enhance the science programs on campus,” Director of Public Relations Sam Schlouch said.
According to Schlouch, the Office of Advancement came together with the Carver Trust from Muscatine, IA with its donation to the college.
The expansion will connect to the existing building, which was completed in 1998 with the help of a $5.45 million gift from the Carver Trust. The planned construction will add 22,000 square feet of space to pursue cross-disciplinary teaching, active learning and collaborative research in the sciences—all critical to meet the educational needs of current and future Augustana students.

“A lot of students are required to take these science-oriented classes in some point of their time here and hopefully the learning outcomes it encompasses spreads with people in their different spaces and bring these differences together,” Schlouch said.
Some features will include five large, studio-style, flexible class/lab learning spaces; five interdisciplinary research labs; and four faculty offices with adjoining space for discussion and collaboration.
This gift is the latest in a relationship between Augustana and the Carver Trust, which began nearly 60 years ago when Roy J. Carver was elected to the Board of Directors of the Augustana Research Foundation in 1958. Mr. Carver went on to serve on the Augustana College Board of Trustees. Since Mr. Carver’s gift of $1.5 million, which was the naming gift for Augustana’s athletic center, the Carver Trust has donated more than $15.9 million to the college for various programs and building projects.
Students who major in science programs at Augustana become leaders in almost every field of scientific study – fields that have immensely broadened since the opening of the Hanson Hall of Science in 1998.
“We at Augustana could not be more grateful to the Carver Trust for their continued support of the college,” said Steve Bahls, president of Augustana College. “This latest gift will allow us to build on our outstanding science programs and prepare future Augustana students for meaningful careers in the sciences that will benefit society.”