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The School of Engineering and Applied Science received a $10 million gift for a new building from Peter and Geri Skirkanich yesterday -- the largest donation in the school's history.

The money will go toward the creation of Skirkanich Hall, a new building which will house the Biochemistry Department, as well as create more space for the other six departments in the Engineering School. The new building, which will span over 58,000 square feet, will also be home to a new bioengineering laboratory.

Peter Skirkanich, an alumnus and a University Trustee, is the president and founder of Fox Asset Management, a $2 billion New Jersey-based counseling firm. He and his wife have also created scholarships for undergraduate Engineering students and a program to hire young faculty members for Engineering departments.

The gift is part of a $57 million initiative in bioengineering that was kicked off last year with a $14 million gift from the Whitaker Foundation -- an organization that supports undergraduate education and graduate research at universities. That donation, which will be given over a five-year period, will fund seven new faculty appointments and almost double the number of graduate students in the department.

According to Engineering School Dean Eduardo Glandt, the University has agreed to match the two gifts to help fund the initiative. Glandt said the school is now well on its way to raising the $35 million needed to complete the new laboratory.

The two donations "are examples that bring the spotlight on the projects," Glandt said. "We are already seeing other friends of the school coming forward with gifts."

Prior to yesterday's gift, the largest single donation in the history of the Engineering School came in February 1999. Melvin Levine gave a $5 million naming donation for the Levine Hall computer science building.

However, Glandt said that the gift from the Skirkanichs, as well as the Whitaker Foundation donation, are unprecedented in their scope.

"It's a shot in the arm that the Engineering School has never seen in its history," Glandt said. "The wonderful thing is that it will have an effect on all six departments within the school."

Bioengineering has become one of the hottest fields in academia in recent years. Penn was one of the first universities to offer a degree in bioengineering, and the Bioengineering Department has partnered with the Medical School on numerous interdisciplinary projects.

The gift "is a vote of confidence in Penn's groundbreaking bioengineering efforts," University President Judith Rodin said in a statement. "Close collaboration between the Engineering and Medical School faculty at the University of Pennsylvania provides a huge basis for these efforts."

Although Glandt said the location for the new building is currently being discussed, he hopes that it will be built "within the central core complex of the school."

Bioengineering Professor Peter Scherer said he believes the donation will help ease the burden that this initiative has placed on the University.

"It gives more motivation and impetus to going ahead with the whole new development program," Scherer said. "It takes some of the stress off the University to raise the money."

Scherer added that the gift will likely provide a force of stability in uncertain economic times.

"This gift makes sure that the whole project will be successful," he said. "It will help shield us from economic downturns."

The gift from the Skirkanichs is the latest in a series of recent donations to upgrade technology in various areas of the University.

In February 2001, University Trustee and alumnus George Weiss' announced a $20 million gift, part of which will go to create a technology hub for students, similar in form to the Kelly Writers House.

And last June, Trustee William Mack donated $10 million to create the William and Phyllis Mack Center for Technological Innovations, which will serve as the umbrella organization for technology initiatives in the Wharton School.

Glandt said he believes that Penn is at a distinct advantage in recruiting donations because of the facilities it offers to its students and faculty.

"We have a strategic advantage with our competitors," Glandt said, referring to the Engineering School. "None of them have a school like we have in our proximity half a block away."

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