Feature Illustration: Artist rendering of Founders Hall. Image: UIW.
Posted: 10-5-2024
San Antonio (Bexar County) —The University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) has received a pledge of $5 million to support the development and renovation of Founders Hall.
The transformative pledge comes to UIW from the Elma Dill Russell Spencer Foundation, managed by the family of Jack Lewis III, former chair of the UIW Board of Trustees and longtime supporter of the University.
Envisioned as a hub of academic excellence and gateway to global understanding for the community, Founders Hall is the future home of the Liza and Jack Lewis Center of the Americas, also named for the Lewis family.
In addition to the Lewis Center, Founders Hall will also house a community events center, the School of Mathematics, Science and Engineering, the School of Media and Design, International Affairs, a new Student Health Center and the UIW Police Department along with other areas to be determined as the project expands.
“I am deeply grateful to the Lewis family for their whole-hearted support of UIW and long-time friendship,” said Dr. Thomas M. Evans, UIW president. “During his 12-year tenure as a trustee, Jack co-chaired the capital campaign committee for the UIW School of Osteopathic Medicine, co-chaired the last comprehensive $100 million campaign and served as treasurer, vice chair and, ultimately, chair of the board.”
This latest gift is the third seven-figure gift toward the Founders Hall (the old AT&T building at the intersection of Broadway and Hildebrand) project.
The nine-story, 380,000-square-foot, 10-acre property represents the largest renovation project in UIW history. It was designed by noted architect Atlee B. Ayers in the 1950s and expands UIW’s footprint by 20 percent.
The university acquired the building in 2019 and is currently in Phase I of the redevelopment process.
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