Swarthmore College Gets $50-Million for Engineering and Science Facilities

Eugene Lang, a Swarthmore alumnus, entered the college at age 15 and says he always gives without anyone asking him to do so. Eugene Lang, a Swarthmore alumnus, entered the college at age 15 and says he always gives without anyone asking him to do so.

January 13, 2013 | Read Time: 1 minute

How much: $50-million pledge

Who got it: Swarthmore College, in Pa.

Who gave it: Eugene Lang, founder of the patenting firm Refac Technology Development, in New York

Connection to the college: Mr. Lang graduated from Swarthmore in 1938 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and formerly chaired its Board of Managers.

Where the money will go: To construct new engineering and science facilities and better link engineering with other academic disciplines

How the gift came about: Mr. Lang says he has always given to the college unprompted. “I’ve never waited for Swarthmore to ask me for anything,” he says. He invited Swarthmore’s president, Rebecca Chopp, and Suzanne Welsh, the college’s vice president for finance, to his office in New York over the summer and announced that he was donating the amount. “I fell off the sofa,” says Ms. Chopp.

Impact of the gift: The college hopes the gift will change how liberal-arts colleges are viewed today. “Too many people see these small colleges as romantic institutions from the last century that are not contributing to the knowledge of the world,” says Ms. Chopp. One project she has in mind to change that view: bringing together engineers, anthropologists, linguists, and chemists to focus on climate change.

Why the donor gave: Mr. Lang says Swarthmore has played a major role in his life since he entered the college at age 15. “It’s been an oasis for my spirit. It tolerated me as a child, so to speak,” says Mr. Lang.