$27.9 Million Gift to Support Science and Technology

Kent Rockwell, an economics graduate, was elected in 2009 to his second term as trustee.

Lafayette has received one of the largest contributions in its history from Trustee Kent Rockwell ’66. The gift, made to a trust that he established benefiting the College, was in the form of stock that sold for $27.9 million. It will support initiatives in science, technology, and innovation.

“We are immensely grateful for this extraordinary and historic gift,” says President Alison Byerly. “Lafayette is committed to becoming a leader in offering innovative educational programs in fields at the intersection of the life sciences, technology, and engineering.” The gift is expected to support a new interdisciplinary science facility.

Rockwell has been chairman and CEO of Rockwell Venture Capital Inc. since 1983. The firm invests in technology-based engineering products and services. Currently he serves as chairman and CEO of Rockwell Forest Products and of ExOne, a global provider of three-dimensional printing machines and printed products to industrial customers. He also is chairman of Strata Proximity Systems.

He established the S. Kent Rockwell ’66 Scholarship Fund to provide financial aid to Marquis Scholars. His father, Willard Rockwell, through the Rockwell Foundation, established the Rockwell Foundation Scholarship Fund.