A ‘hallmark moment’ for Western

Paul M. Rady

Western Colorado University alumnus Paul Rady had an idea six years ago: create a brand new engineering school and thereby boost the fortunes of his alma mater along with science education across the state.

After years of planning and negotiation, the result is the Paul M. Rady School of Computer Science and Engineering, a 75,000 square-foot building to house the program — which exists as a partnership between Western and the University of Colorado Boulder (CU). On Friday, the dream culminated with a grand opening to celebrate the shared success of Western, CU and Rady.

Dignitaries, trustees, faculty members, students and community members gathered on the north side of the steel and glass Rady Building beneath a sky that threatened rain. Western Interim President Nancy Chisholm, CU President Todd Saliman, Western Board of Trustees Chair Pam Shaddock, former CU College of Engineering dean Bobbie Braun and Executive Director of the College of Education Angie Pichoni took turns at the microphone, thanking Rady and hailing the success of the CU-Western collaboration that the new building houses.

The crowd also heard from Jenifee Blacklock, dean of the Rady School, Rick Watkins of the builder, Mesa Properties, and Adam Ingleman, who is the Western student trustee and the president of the Student Government Association.

When it was her turn to speak, Shaddock referenced the dedication of Western’s new turf soccer field to Katy Rady, Paul Rady’s wife. During that ceremony at the soccer field, which took place Thursday afternoon, Katy stated how Paul’s intention was to “make this world better.”

That is “what this school is doing for us,” Shaddock said. “It is a center for excellence, it is a center for academic rigour, it is a center for creating and for innovation. Paul and Katy, you have achieved that, making this a better place for Gunnison, for our students and for our world.”

Braun, Rady and Watkins described the years of planning that brought the new building and new engineering program into existence. A feasibility study, started in 2015, led Rady and Watkins to make plans for a 5,600 square foot building. But after meeting with Braun and others at CU about the types of spaces and equipment needed, Watkins and Rady realized that the building needed to be bigger. Much bigger.

Construction of the Rady Building, as well as a park between it and Hwy. 50, displaced the field used by  Western’s women’s soccer team. Paul Rady’s gift to Western, which in sum approaches $90 million, paid for both the construction of the Rady Building for the engineering program, as well as a relocation and upgrade of the soccer facilities. The Katy O. Rady soccer field is now on the north side of campus near the Mountaineer Bowl.

Pichoni stepped to the microphone and said she was there to represent Gov. Jared Polis and had traveled to the celebration at his request. She read a proclamation from the governor declaring the day as Paul and Katy Rady Day.

At the lectern Paul Rady said his experience as a Western student had been “transformational.” He looked at the motels on Hwy. 50 and remembered that he had worked as a cleaner at many of them before he got his first job where he was “using my brain instead of my body,” which was as a teaching assistant in physics. 

Paul Rady went on to earn a bachelors in geology from Western and to have a career in the oil and gas industry. Today, he is the CEO and chairman of Antero Resources. Several financial news sources estimate his net worth to be around $1 billion.

Paul Rady learned in the planning process for the engineering school that accreditation was a “catch-22” which, if Western were to pursue alone, would take several years. The partnership with CU was a solution to that hurdle, he said. Western houses the Rady School, but its students take classes from CU Boulder engineering department faculty and graduate with CU degrees.

Echoing the preceding remarks by Braun, Paul Rady said the school is “setting the table for the future.”

“That’s how I look at it, as well. This is not the end, of course, it is just the beginning of what we can do together.”

After the ceremony, the Times asked Paul Rady if he had plans for more donations or creating more programs at Western. He responded, “Not necessarily, but we give it a lot of thought.”

Paul Rady said he was grateful for the support from Gunnison and the Gunnison Valley, and pointed to the fact that the building was constructed within three years as a testament to that. Classes have been held there since January.

He said his favorite part of the building was its large south-facing windows and its ability to use passive solar and geothermal to keep the building heated. 

“It’s a beginning, and we can do a lot more,” Paul Rady said.

With former Western president Greg Salsbury absent from the event, Western Executive Vice President Brad Baca was among the members of the administration who had seen the Rady School go from what Paul Rady called a “germ of the idea” six years ago to a building full of students.

Baca called the grand opening a “hallmark moment for the institution” and said it may be an example for the rest of the state on how institutions can collaborate to more efficiently serve their students. He said he had spoken with Pichoni about that earlier in the day.

“I really think this is going to create some innovative thinking,” Baca said.

Locally, Gunnison Mayor Jim Gelwicks said the Rady School is a “gamechanger” for the city.

“It gives Western a new opportunity to expand and sustain itself in the future, plus it gives us a magnet that will attract other things that hopefully will improve our overall economic health.”

Abel Chavez, vice president of enrollment and student success at Western, said the Rady school is a “key part of the future of Western Colorado University” and noted that the number of students in the engineering and computer science programs have doubled each year. The Rady School welcomed its third cohort this fall.

Western trustee and alumnus Rich Todd said he expected the Rady School to boost Western’s reputation.

“I think it’s going to help put Western in a better place, not just locally, but in Colorado and nationally,” Todd said. “This is just such an amazing gift by the Rady family, and we couldn’t be more grateful, as an alum and as a trustee.”

(Sam Liebl can be contacted at 970.641.1414 or editor@gunnisontimes.com.)