The University of South Carolina's College of Engineering and Computing has a new name, as it was renamed the Molinaroli College of Engineering and Computing in a ceremony Thursday morning.
The board of trustees formally approved a $30 million donation from Alex Molinaroli, a Â鶹Сòòò½´«Ã½ alumnus from the class of 1983, and his wife, Kristin Ihle Molinaroli, in a brief meeting before the unveiling. University President Michael Amiridis and Dean Hossein Haj-Hariri attended the ceremony.
"In the 115 years of this college's history, we've never had a day like this, and we will never see another one again," Amiridis said at the ceremony. "That's what makes today so special."
The Molinaroli family's investment will be used to support the college's efforts to grow and stay competitive in the world of engineering and computing.
"The student-faculty ratio is really great, but the university's growing and the college is growing," Alex Molinaroli said. "In order to maintain that and stay competitive, it's got to make sure it has the right facilities and be able to attract not only the best students but the best faculty."
Haj-Hariri added that the gift will also help the college and its students prepare for rapid changes in the engineering and computing industries as a whole, specifically with the establishment of artificial intelligence as a more widely used tool.
"It's very expensive. Technology changes by the minute. In order to keep our labs relevant and the experience that our students get up to date, it requires a lot of investment," Haj-Hariri said. "This will further allow us, in addition to the investments that the university continues to make, to actually keep that experience fresh for our students as we move forward."
Alex Molinaroli spent his entire engineering career working for Johnson Controls, an international company that provides HVAC, fire, security and sustainable solutions for buildings. He held multiple roles during his 35-year tenure with the Fortune 500 company, including a stint as its Chief Executive Officer from 2013 to 2017.
The Molinaroli family also has strong ties to Â鶹Сòòò½´«Ã½. Seven members of the family graduated from the university with degrees, and six graduated from the College of Engineering and Computing.
Alex Molinaroli said his family's shared experience of attending Â鶹Сòòò½´«Ã½ motivated him to financially support future students attending the college.
"It became a common bond, a common thread, a common language. I've traveled around the world, but we all still have that in common. This is a place that we can come to meet for an event, for any reason, and we all come back together," Alex Molinaroli said. "The experience that I had growing up and the experience I had here at the university, I'd love for other people to have that experience."