MANHATTAN — The Sunderland Foundation, Leawood, has invested $2.5 million in the new innovation lab included in Kansas State University’s first-floor renovation of Hale Library.

With the development of The Sunderland Foundation Innovation Lab, students, faculty and library patrons will have access to new technologies such as digital media production, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, immersive digital environments and other emerging innovations. This advances the capacity of K-State Libraries to meet the needs of 21st-century students as they prepare to launch into all areas of society such as industry, education, research and community.

“We’re profoundly grateful for the Sunderland Foundation’s support of a next-generation Hale Library,” said Lori Goetsch, dean of K-State Libraries. “Their generosity will provide our students with cutting-edge technology in a creative, high-tech environment. I know we will be blown away by what K-State students can create when they have access to such amazing resources.”

“Our family foundation is committed to strengthening higher education, and what better way than to invest in K-State Libraries’ innovation lab where countless students will research and build next-generation technologies,” said Kent Sunderland, president of The Sunderland Foundation. “We see this lab as a cutting-edge learning environment that will benefit communities and industry in the region and beyond the Midwest.”

Kansas State University alumni and friends have contributed more than $7 million toward the Hale Library renovation and restoration, which will honor the library’s history and advance the innovative technology available to students. Additional opportunities to support Hale Library as an integral resource to students, researchers and faculty are available as fundraising continues on behalf of K-State Libraries.

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