Grace Honors Ortho Icon
Officials plan to break ground on the new complex next year.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowGrace College has announced details of a new multi-million dollar facility that will bear the name of an Indiana orthopedics industry pioneer. The Dr. Dane A. Miller Science Complex on the Winona Lake campus will connect to and expand the existing Cooley Science Center. Miller co-founded Warsaw-based Biomet, now Zimmer Biomet Holdings Inc. (NYSE: ZBH), in the late-1970s, serving as its chief executive officer for nearly three decades. He died last year. Grace College President Dr. Bill Katip says a Miller family gift was the catalyst for the project.
Katip tells Inside INdiana Business the center will be an asset for the community and the industry. "Dane was on the early steering committee as we were looking at some projects and he wanted all of them. We’re going to talk about some more next spring when we kind of go more public with some of these, but Dane wanted all of them and this science center was something he really wanted."
Construction could begin next year and the college says $5.5 million has already been raised. In addition to the Miller family, Zimmer Biomet has also donated to the cause and friends of Miller have formed the "No Tie Club," designed to rally support for contributions for the new complex in his honor.
Zimmer Biomet CEO David Dvorak calls Miller "a true innovator" for the industry and community. "We are pleased to have an opportunity to nurture that value in the next generation of leaders," Dvorak says.
Grace College says over the course of nearly 40 years of the Cooley Science Center, the school’s Department of Science and Mathematics has grown sixfold, currently including 220 students pursuing 13 science majors.
Features of the modernization efforts include new labs, classrooms, a hub for research for the Center for Lakes and Streams and more office and multi-use space.
Grace College Vice President of Advancement Drew Flamm says "our aspirations are now actualities." The college has launched the architectural drawer and bidding process. "We’ve been dreaming of and planning for a new science complex that resources our students and equips our faculty to be leaders in their fields. We’re now well on our way toward that reality," said Flamm.
Winona Lake is located in Kosciusko County, which is billed as the Orthopedic Capital of the World because of the presence of many high-profile companies like Zimmer Biomet, DePuy Inc., Medtronic Spinal & Biologics and Tecomet.
Recently, Grace College announced a program offering additional tuition reductions for each year a student stays enrolled at the school.
Grace College President Bill Katip tells Inside INdiana Business the center will be a great asset for the community and the industry.