YPSILANTI, MI – The two names of labs within a new Eastern Michigan University building are inspired by a pair of alumni business leaders, including NASCAR hall-of-famer Jack Roush.
The renovated Sill Hall at 109 Jones-Goddard on the Ypsilanti campus, houses the GameAbove College of Engineering and Technology and the two labs.
Roush, co-owner of Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing, will have the automotive lab inside the engineering college named for him, while the construction management lab will be named for the company of fellow EMU alumnus John Bodary, president of Woods Construction.
The official dedication and naming ceremony is set for 3 p.m. Thursday, April 21.
Roush, 79, is chairman of Roush Enterprises in Livonia. His company Jack Roush Performance Engineering eventually led him to launch his own professional racing team in 1988. His success led him to a NASCAR Hall of Fame induction in 2019.
He gifted $1 million to the GameAbove school last summer for automotive and mathematics programs and equipment. Roush, who graduated from EMU in 1970 with a master’s degree in mathematics.
Read more: NASCAR team owner Jack Roush gifts $1M for Eastern Michigan University’s math, automotive programs
Bodary and his wife Michelle, both EMU alumni, have provided financial support for the construction management program for the last 30 years. In addition to helping name the lab, the couple also helped fund the Bodary/Woods Construction Endowed Scholarship for students pursuing that program.
The dedication ceremony starts with remarks from EMU President James Smith, as well as Board of Regents Chair Eunice Jeffries and Mohammad Qatu, dean of the GameAbove college. The dedication of the construction management lab starts at 4 p.m., and then the Roush Automotive Lab at 5 p.m.
“The extensive renovations and expansion of Sill Hall make it a premier destination for students entering the engineering and technology fields,” Smith said in a statement. “Thanks to the support of John Bodary, Jack Roush, and other members of our business community, students from around the world receive a world-class education in a modernized facility where they experience dynamic and functional hands-on learning opportunities guided by our outstanding faculty.”
Read more: EMU construction updates spring 2020
The Sill Hall renovation and expansion started in 2019, finished in 2021 and cost $40 million. The labs will support engineering classes dedicated to autonomous vehicles research, cybersecurity, virtual reality, robotics and maker spaces, Qatu said.
“These are exciting times at the GameAbove College of Engineering and Technology for our students and faculty,” Qatu said. “With support from our local and international business community, we will continue to raise the profile of the GameAbove College of Engineering and Technology and graduate students who are well prepared to pursue their careers in engineering and technology fields.”
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Read More: NASCAR legend Jack Roush 1 of 2 namesakes of new Eastern Michigan University