PULLMAN, Wash.--Washington State University dedicated a brand new multi-million dollar facility for its veterinary program Saturday.
The new “Paul G. Allen Center for Global Animal Health” is the first of its kind for investigating emerging diseases around the world.
Saturday’s ceremony celebrates two large donations from the “Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation” as well as Paul Allen. Making a contribution with this kind of impact was a longtime goal for Allen.
"As your life progresses, you want to find great ways to give back and what greater way to give back than to do something at my alma mater,” said Allen.
Allen donated $26 million along with another $25 million from the Gates Foundation. The money also paid for the 62,000 square foot research facility and the funding to operate it.
The donation will also add 20 new faculty members by 2020 and the number off graduate researchers will increase to more than 100 students. It will also allow WSU to create research and exchange programs with institutions in Africa.
For Allen, the donation stands as a way to repay the school that gave him so much as a student.
