PULLMAN, Wash—Washington State University and the WSU Foundation announced today the naming of the Spark Academic Innovation Hubs’ marquee lecture space the PACCAR Lecture Hall, thanks to a generous donation from PACCAR Inc, a global technology company.
“We are excited for the latest partnership with PACCAR to create opportunities for our faculty and students to access the very best technology and learning techniques,” said WSU President Kirk Schulz. “For more than a century, PACCAR has been a global innovation leader in the transportation industry. It is fitting that their investments in WSU bring our students face to face with the tools of innovation and discovery that will inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and leaders.”
“PACCAR is pleased to partner with Washington State University in support of the sciences, environmental studies and the humanities,” shared Mark Pigott, executive chairman of PACCAR. “The PACCAR Lecture Hall at the Spark Innovation Hub at WSU Pullman will enable students and faculty to engage and discuss many topics that will deliver benefits in a myriad of academic and commercial fields.”
The Spark Academic Innovation Hub is WSU Pullman’s newest and most technologically advanced instructional facility, equipped with innovative learning spaces and cutting-edge technology. The Spark promotes ground-breaking technologies and educational methods, encourages creative collaboration, and ignites excitement for learning and teaching all across the WSU community.
Among the Spark’s active learning classrooms, innovation studios, design labs and event spaces, the PACCAR Lecture Hall is the facility’s signature 277-seat classroom-in-the-round space that is an epicenter of student activities and among the most popular classrooms on campus. The PACCAR Lecture Hall’s innovative configuration and use of technology promotes collaboration, interactive participation, and creativity in instruction methods for all WSU students in a wide variety of disciplines. Additionally, it is a popular location for large meetings, symposia and other special events.
The future-facing design of the PACCAR Lecture Hall, and the entirety of the Spark, anticipates changing technologies, advancing fields of study, and evolving teaching methods. PACCAR’s support will help provide future upgrades and integrations of emerging technologies to ensure faculty and students continue to have access to emerging innovations and cutting-edge instructional techniques.
“PACCAR’s investment to establish the PACCAR Lecture Hall will help ensure WSU continues to push the boundaries for innovative educational methods and technologies in what is WSU’s highest profile classroom setting,” said Mike Connell, WSU’s acting vice president of advancement and CEO of the WSU Foundation. ”This partnership is a wonderful example for how philanthropic investment can make a difference in the educational and research experience for generations to come.”
PACCAR and WSU have enjoyed a strong partnership for many years. In 2014, PACCAR invested in the construction of the PACCAR Environmental Technology Building on WSU’s Pullman campus. Completed in 2016, the 96,000 square foot facility was designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification, and is the cornerstone of a new engineering district on WSU’s Pullman campus. The PACCAR Environmental Technology Building’s combination of laboratories, faculty office space, an auditorium, and student lounges create a highly engaging on-campus research and learning experience for faculty and students.
PACCAR delivered two crimson and gray trucks, a Kenworth K270 and a Peterbilt 220, to Cougar Athletics—one to be converted into a Mobile Cougar Kitchen to provide meal services for student athletes at athletics facilities, and the other to serve as an Equipment Support Truck to transport equipment and other supplies to and from athletic events.
PACCAR is a global technology leader in the design, manufacture and customer support of high-quality light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks under the Kenworth, Peterbilt and DAF nameplates. PACCAR also designs and manufactures advanced powertrains, provides financial services and information technology, and distributes truck parts related to its principal business.
Media contact:
- Trevor Durham, WSU Foundation, 509-335-2093, tdhuram@wsu.edu
