The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is giving the University of Akron $3 million to create an endowment in polymer science and polymer engineering to support its research and innovation.
The endowment, the university’s largest, is named in recognition of the work of Akron native Dr. W. Gerald Austen, a renowned cardiac and thoracic surgeon.
Knight Foundation President Alberto Ibarguen said the endowment was created “for the city and continuing support for excellence at the university and to honor a truly great man who has strong ties to Akron.”
Austen served on the Knight Foundation board of trustees for 24 years and as board chair for 14 years. Austen said he implemented the rule that a board member should retire at age 80 and then he followed it. He retired nearly seven years ago.
“Dr. Austen was the leader and the inspiration and the evolution of the Knight Foundation from a small, company-oriented foundation to the national foundation that it is today,” Ibarguen said. “It simply would not have happened without his vision, imagination and his tenacity.”
The 86-year-old surgeon said he was very fond of Akron. He said although he graduated from MIT and medical school in Boston and lived there most of his life, many of his close friends are from Akron, where he went to grade school and high school.
Austen talked about his mother, who graduated from the University of Akron, taught languages there and was a mother of four. He said in 1995 at age 97 she received the UA president’s medal for her accomplishments and support for the university.
Austen received an honorary degree from UA in 1980 and is on the president’s advisory board. “It’s a great legacy and very humbling to have an endowed chair bear my name,” he said.
The Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron, a local collaboration to advance medical innovation, is also named after him.
University of Akron professor Matthew Becker has been named the first holder of the W. Gerald Austen chair. Becker, a professor in the departments of Polymer Science and Biomedical Engineering, has a research group that focuses on applying polymer science to develop new medical devices and regenerative medicine applications. The group is currently sharing a $6 million grant from the U.S. Army with two other institutions to work on groundbreaking limb-salvage techniques.
Becker has been with UA since April 2009.
“This has been a really stunning surprise — its pretty incredible what the Knight Foundation does in all its communities,” Becker said. “There are a lot of needs out there, and for them to put emphasis on this gift for a university is really significant. One, it’s the largest of its kind, and two, for what we’re trying to do, it represents turning the page establishing more medical type of materials here and trying to grow what we’re doing nationally. It’s my hope that I do things worthy of the name.”
Ibarguen said Becker already has the kind of national standing that the foundation thought would be essential to honor Austen.
UA President Matthew Wilson said Akron’s strength in polymers remains a key competitive advantage for the university and the city of Akron and state.
Ohio is home to the largest polymer industry cluster in America, the nation and even internationally, he said.
“This donation personifies the value of the university in the community and the impact it has on ... so many levels,” Wilson said. “When we can involve medical technologies and developments in that arena we’re excited to play that role and build upon this gift and the excitement that it brings educating a whole new generation and helping further the research of Dr. Becker in his college.”
Austen said Becker will serve in the chair until he retires or makes another career move.
He said the Knight brothers started with the Akron Beacon Journal and created a fleet of newspapers throughout the country.
“Jack Knight considered Akron his home. He was born in Akron and died in Akron.” Austen said. “I think he would be very happy that the Knight Foundation is doing something for the University of Akron.”
The foundation provides funds in communities where the Knight brothers had newspapers and where they lived.
Since 2008, the Knight Foundation has invested more than $58 million in Akron.
The foundation provided $27.5 million in funding to the University of Akron since the 1950s. In May of last year the Knight Foundation invested $5 million in funding for UA and the nonprofit DANCECleveland to launch the National Center for Choreography on the Akron campus. It’s the second center of its kind in the country.
Marilyn Miller can be reached at 330-996-3098 or mmiller@thebeaconjournal.com.