The University of California, Los Angeles has unveiled plans for a new student-athlete academic center.
According to post on the school’s website, the $35 million project will serve nearly 700 student-athletes, who participate in 25 intercollegiate athletic programs.
To be named after music industry executive and philanthropist Morris “Mo” Ostin, who has committed the lead gift of $15 million to the proposed project, the comprehensive, state-of-the-art academic facility will be located in the heart of the UCLA campus immediately adjacent to the east side of the J.D. Morgan Center.
“UCLA has a deep commitment to academic success for all of our students, particularly those with demanding schedules, like our student-athletes,” said chancellor Gene Block. “Their dedication to success both on the field and in the classroom will only be enhanced by this new center. We remain grateful for Mo Ostin’s wonderful support and our shared vision as UCLA begins its second century.”
Ostin’s gift comes in the wake of an additional $10 million he donated for construction of the school’s Mo Ostin Basketball Center.
“It is my hope this academic center for student-athletes will serve as a resource for the most elite student-athletes in the country, at the country’s #1 public institution, to excel not only athletically but also academically,” said Ostin. “For decades UCLA has developed talented student-athletes, to include legendary Academic All-Americans like Mike Warren, John Sciarra, Bill Walton, Denise Curry, and Jamaal Wilkes, to not only perform at their best athletically, but thrive in a very competitive academic environment. Assisting future student-athletes to reach their academic best is extremely important to me, and I am thrilled to be a part of this new academic center.”
The planned three-level Mo Ostin Academic Center for Student-Athletes will include individual and group study spaces, tutorial areas, state-of-the-art technology labs and offices for UCLA Athletics’ Academic and Student Services staff in nearly 20,000 square feet of new space. In addition to the academic space, the facility will feature a new Hall of Champions entry display showcasing UCLA’s 116 NCAA Championship trophies and linking the Mo Ostin Academic Center for Student-Athletes to the existing UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame.
