We will expand experiential learning and sustain educators of the highest caliber—preparing our students for success in college and in life.

 

To achieve this, we will continue to grow S.T.E.A.M., our intentionally interdisciplinary approach to teaching science, technology, engineering, art and design, and mathematics. Through our Harkness Travel and immersive Scholars programs, we will take students out of the classroom and engage them in real-world applications of knowledge.

 

Enhanced programs and facilities equip our gifted educators with the tools they need to elevate learning, creativity, and student agency. Attracting and retaining a distinguished faculty requires the provision of competitive salaries, on-campus faculty housing, and novel instructional opportunities. With these assets in place, our instructors can bring out the best in bright minds and empower students to exceed their own expectations.

The inspiration for the latest investment in Lawrenceville by Martin Gruss '60, and his wife, Audrey, began 3,000 miles from campus. The School was studying a plan for a dedicated makerspace and innovation hub, a major step forward in the vision for experiential education and hands-on learning presented in Head of School Steve Murray’s strategic plan. In January 2017, Lawrenceville's Board of Trustees traveled to California’s Silicon Valley for innovative ideas.

 

A trustee emeritus, Martin had more than passing interest in the topic. The School administration was envisioning a program rooted in S.T.E.A.M. learning, the deliberate intersection of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. Martin and Audrey are avid art collectors, and had earlier funded the construction of the Gruss Center of Visual Arts at Lawrenceville and the Gruss Sculpture Garden, among other gifts to the School. They were intrigued by the possibilities a makerspace offered for expanding the creative potential of students across multiple disciplines and impressed by their visits to San Francisco's Autodesk Gallery, Google, and the Stanford Design School.

 

The Gruss Center for Art and Design (GCAD), a 15,000-square-foot creative design center and makerspace, opened in February 2020. Linking the Hutchins Galleries on one side with the existing art studios on the other, this massive rebuild has given Lawrenceville students a state-of-the-art workspace for everything from metal sculpture, to computer-assisted design and construction, to robotics.

 

Martin and Audrey were involved in the project from beginning to end, and their hands-on commitment is reflected in the aesthetics and functionality of this hands-on facility. GCAD is at the center of a revolution in experiential education at Lawrenceville, and its impact is only beginning to emerge.