Through unprecedented generosity, the college has already raised $95.8 million to date, including the largest gift in school history: a $27 million Catalyst Corridor grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. through its College and Community Collaboration initiative for Indiana higher education institutions. Since then, several alumni have given their largest gifts to date.
A few weeks ago, Mr. Ron and Mindy Truex gave a gift to Grace to commemorate the rich legacy of Mindy’s father, William Edward “Eddie” Creighton, who demonstrated faithful stewardship, strong business leadership and community service. In his honor, one of the key campaign projects will be named the W. Eddie Creighton Business Innovation Complex. This complex will be located in the historic Free Methodist church across from Westminster Hall. The building will be the future home of Grace’s School of Business and Gordon Center for Enterprise Development, complete with numerous study rooms and dedicated spaces for Grace’s orthopedic MBA students and K-12 programming.
“The Creighton and Truex families have a long legacy of servant leadership and commitment to our community,” said Flamm. “We are honored to recognize their name on this building that will train students to do just that — serve humbly and engage their community.”
Campaign momentum continued to grow last month when global orthopedic leader Zimmer Biomet announced it would donate its current global headquarters building at 345 E. Main Street in Warsaw, Ind., to Grace.
The building will become the home of Grace’s Orthopedic Innovation Research Center (OIRC), which will foster innovation and drive talent development from K-12 through higher education.
“The OIRC is a strategic model that will facilitate academic-industry partnership and collaboration to ensure Warsaw remains at the forefront of the orthopedic and medtech industries,” said Dr. Emi Krelau, executive director of the Catalyst Corridor Initiative at Grace. “We have developed this concept through benchmarking with other innovation centers and academic-industry collaboration networks, and learning from their best practices and collaboration models. But this is our version, for our community — for Grace and for orthopedics — and I’m excited about the potential this project has to mutually benefit our students and the Orthopedic Capital of the World®.”
The OIRC will create opportunities for Grace students to work directly with orthopedic and medtech companies on research projects and real-world challenges. Medtech and orthopedic companies will be able to lease space within the building, creating an environment where students can interact with industry professionals and gain hands-on experience. The center will also support the growth of Grace’s engineering and computer science programs, providing space for upper-level coursework, labs and capstone projects, while also creating opportunities for Grace to launch new STEM programs.
Beyond Grace’s campus, the OIRC will contribute to a regional STEM talent pipeline. Plans include a discovery center for elementary students, opportunities to engage Warsaw-area high school students pursuing manufacturing pathways and potential connections with Ivy Tech students. The center will also provide space for industry presentations, seminars and networking, bringing students, industry professionals and thought leaders together to share knowledge and expertise.
To learn more about the “Created for More” campaign, and its various projects, visit www.grace.edu/give-to-grace/created-for-more-campaign/.
