Donor gift invigorates convergence center at Bradley

The center has two commercialization laboratories.
The center has two commercialization laboratories. | File photo

Bradley University's Business and Engineering Convergence Center has received an unspecified seven-figure financial gift from Glen and Polly Barton to fund the Maker's Lab. 

The facility serves as both a building and an academic program that allows a collaborative environment for business and engineering. With this gift, the laboratory will be made available for students at the Quest Charter Academy.

“This space will allow for our students and members of our community to build their ideas, it will provide resources and access for collaboration with young people in our community,” Dean of the Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technology Lex Akers said. “We hope to see students from Quest and many other schools throughout our region reap the benefits of this world-class facility.”

According to plans released through the university’s campaign website, the convergence center consists of 327,000 square feet and houses the College of Engineering and Technology and the Foster College of Business Administration. 

The center has two commercialization laboratories that support multidisciplinary teams of students to bring products from design concepts to distribution.