Iowa State’s College of Design received a monetary gift that will help renovate the building’s atrium, located on the first floor.

The college was awarded a $250,000 grant in June by the Gardner and Florence Call Cowles Foundation. The grant, which will help fund a $3 million capital project, will be used for an “electronic” conference center and distance-learning facility, according to a press release.

Features of the capital project include a 250-seat auditorium, creation of in-studio computing areas, construction of additional studio and shop space, development of an exterior plaza and improvements to the college’s atrium.

“The Cowles Foundation grant will be plugged right into the first-floor atrium. This will turn the atrium into a dramatic place [for students and faculty] to visit and work in,” said Mark Engelbrecht, dean of the College of Design.

The college’s $3 million capital project has received $1 million in institutional funding, while another $1.75 million, including the Cowles grant, has been provided through gifts to the ISU Foundation.

“We are honored to have the support of the Gardner and Florence Call Cowles Foundation for this important capital project,” Engelbrecht said.

He said the grant is an important part of the capital campaign.

“With this grant, the Cowles Foundation is supporting the only comprehensive design program in the state and significantly enhancing our ability to educate students and provide outreach to the people and communities of Iowa,” Engelbrecht said.

The Cowles Foundation is an independent foundation formed in 1934. The foundation has a record of supporting four-year, accredited Iowa private colleges, as well as various cultural institutions and social service agencies in the state, according to the press release.

The fund-raising effort for the design project is part of the ISU Foundation’s “Campaign Destiny: To Become the Best,” a $300 million capital campaign created with ISU’s mission to become the best land-grant university in the nation.

“This grant will really make a mark for design students,” Engelbrecht said.