Gift to Spark Innovation Park Growth
Innovation Park opened in 2009.
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA $5 million gift is allowing the University of Notre Dame to expand Innovation Park. The donation from the late Thomas Quinn and his wife, Diane, will support the construction of Quinn Hall, which will provide space for up to 30 startup companies.
The Thomas H. and Diane G. Quinn Hall for Innovation and Change will span 40,000 square-feet on a 12-acre site just south of the Notre Dame campus. The school says an increase in research funding at the university over the past decade has led to more new business startups and strategic partnerships and the need for more space to support them.
Provost Tom Burish calls Phase II of Innovation Park "a major step forward for the university and the community as a whole." The hall will include dedicated space for what the school is calling the IDEA Center, which is designed to bring Notre Dame faculty and student ideas to market.
Thomas Quinn earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Notre Dame and was a member of the 1966 national championship football team. He served on the advisory council for the school’s Mendoza College of Business. The Quinns have made multiple significant donations to the university. He passed away earlier this year.
Innovation Park opened in 2009. Since then, 59 new ventures have launched there. The park’s occupancy rate is at 90 percent, with 29 companies currently operational.