Ball commits more than $1M to CU Boulder

BOULDER — The University of Colorado Boulder Thursday announced that it has received two major gifts from Broomfield-based Ball Corp. (NYSE: BLL) and its foundation, including a $1 million gift from Ball to support the university’s new Aerospace Engineering Sciences building opening this fall.

The Ball Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Ball, also has made a $104,000 grant for scholarships to grow the pool of diverse talent through the BOLD (Broadening Opportunity through Leadership and Diversity) program in CU engineering and EXCEL program in the Leeds School of Business.

The Ball investments are the latest commitments to the university in a long partnership that spans more than six decades.

CU Boulder was an early catalyst for the company entering the aerospace industry in 1956 with the founding of the Ball Brothers Research Corp. This new research group embraced many CU faculty and graduate students who had been part of the Upper Air Laboratory (now LASP). Ball Aerospace has since excelled in developing aerospace technologies and services for the U.S. government.

“Ball Corp. is a leader in so many ways in our community, and we’re thankful for their partnership in developing the workforce of the future,” Bobby Braun, dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science, said when announcing the gifts. “Ball embodies the term ‘good corporate citizen.’ In addition to its generous financial support, the company’s leadership and employees are committed to volunteering and advising our students and faculty.”

CU partners with Ball in many ways across the campus, including senior engineering design projects, NASA contracts, and student professional development. This latest investment breaks ground for several new initiatives.

“We are pleased to support a strengthening and expansion of Aerospace Engineering Sciences and look forward to the impact it will make for the students, faculty and the pipeline of talent for industry,” said John Hayes, Ball chairman, president and CEO. “We are committed to working with CU to develop this talent through our scholarship support and mentoring of students by Ball employees.”

The BOLD Center provides support for engineering students through an array of academic, social and professional development programs. BOLD scholarships encourage students to choose to attend CU Boulder Engineering and Applied Science, to connect with a community of peers, persist to graduation and achieve high academic success.

Ball also is supporting students in the CU Leeds school, which is committed to ensuring access to students from underrepresented, first-generation and low-income backgrounds who may not have been afforded the opportunities to participate in high-stake test or college admissions preparation. To ensure promising students are not overlooked, Leeds carefully selects applicants who meet this demographic and demonstrate resiliency, talent and promise to interview for the Leeds EXCEL Scholars program.