For the last few months, the naming of the Gianforte Family Academic Center has been a controversy for the Stevens community. The Gianforte Family Academic Center is an academic building that is currently under construction on campus. The Center attracted lots of negative publicity for being named after Greg Gianforte, the notoriously anti-LGBT Montana House Representative, who was also involved in a controversial incident in which he “body-slammed” a reporter. Student protests caused the building to be renamed from the Gianforte Academic Center to the Gianforte Family Academic Center.
Recently, The Stute received an anonymous tip that Gianforte donated less than half of the final cost of the building. The Stute reached out to Louis Mayer, Chief Financial Officer, Vice President for Finance, and Treasurer of Stevens for further information.
According to Mayer, the budget for the Gianforte building project is $68 million. Gianforte himself donated $20 million in two payments of $10 million, the second being a pledge gift to be payed in the future by the Gianforte Family Foundation. The remainder of the budget is being paid by other fundraising such as Stevens bonds and New Jersey state funding. The Stevens Gift Policy does not state a minimum donation amount to have an academic building named after a donor. The Gianforte Family Academic Center is set to be completed in July 2019.
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