Loyola receives $1 million gift to construct Hanway Academic Loft within the Fernandez Center for Innovation and Collaborative Learning
Loyola has received a $1 million gift from Ellen and Ed Hanway to support the construction of the Miguel B. Fernandez Family Center for Innovation and Collaborative Learning, which the University will break ground on in 2020.
The Hanway Academic Loft, which will be located on the top floor of the Fernandez Center, will be a collaborative space on the top floor of the Fernandez Center, offering a place for faculty and students to engage in interactive, innovative, and interdisciplinary learning.
Ed Hanway, who graduated from Loyola in 1974, serves as a Loyola trustee and was formerly
the chair of the Board. He and his wife, who both received honorary Doctor of Humane
Letters degrees from Loyola in 2014, are long-time supporters of Loyola, who have
made transformative gifts to the University, including a $5.2 million gift that was
the largest in its history.
“Ellen and I are passionate about taking a multidisciplinary approach to education,” said Ed Hanway. “We are proud to support the addition of a space that will be intentionally designed to offer innovative opportunities for faculty and students to engage in learning.”
The Hanways’ past contributions to Loyola have strengthened Loyola’s global studies program, bolstered the York Road Initiative, created the Hanway Lecture in Global Studies, helped launch Messina, added an endowed faculty chair, and provided resources for faculty research and student scholarships.
“The Hanway Academic Loft will be a tangible sign of Ed and Ellen’s ongoing and transformative support of Loyola over the years, and it will offer a place for innovative, intellectual engagement, mentorship, and scholarship,” said Rev. Brian F. Linnane, S.J., president. “I am deeply grateful to the Hanways for all the ways they have supported today’s Loyola students and tomorrow’s—and particularly for how they invest in helping to ensure our students graduate as leaders for our diverse and changing world.”
The Fernandez Center will be named for Trustee Miguel “Mike” and Constance Fernandez
and the Fernandez Family Foundation, which made a $5 million gift to Loyola for the
Fernandez Center and to support need-based aid.
The Fernandez Center, which will be located on the Evergreen campus, will be a dynamic, state-of-the-art building that will help Loyola advance its outcomes and reputation as a place for innovation. In addition to the Hanway Academic Loft (depicted in the rendering), the Fernandez Center will include the expanded Dan and Kelly Rizzo Career Center, the Forbes Idea Lab, active learning classrooms, and innovative space for faculty.