Loyola Marymount University has received a $1 million grant from The Fletcher Jones Foundation to support the Engineering Innovation Complex (EIC), a planned capital expansion for LMU Frank R. Seaver College of Science and Engineering. The grant is the first major philanthropic commitment secured under the leadership of LMU President Thomas Poon, Ph.D., who began his tenure on June 1, 2025.
“As a scientist and educator, I am committed to unlocking the transformative potential of the Engineering Innovation Complex — not just for LMU, but for the students and broader society we serve,” Poon said. “This visionary investment from The Fletcher Jones Foundation affirms LMU’s bold aspirations to drive solutions to society’s most pressing challenges through STEM innovation, collaboration, and creativity. I’m grateful for their partnership and their confidence in LMU’s ability to lead the way.”
The Fletcher Jones Foundation is one of LMU’s most enduring philanthropic partners whose gifts date back to 1981, when it first contributed $5,000 to the university’s annual fund. Since then, their growing generosity has been critical to a range of capital and academic initiatives, including the construction of the William H. Hannon Library and the Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion Innovation Lab; the renovation of the William M. Rains Library at LMU Loyola Law School; the endowments of the Fletcher Jones Chair in Literature and Writing and the Fletcher Jones Foundation Endowed Scholarship; and the renovation of Strub Theatre. The foundation’s lifetime giving to LMU exceeds $7.7 million.
The foundation’s support of the sciences has been particularly impactful. In 2010, The Fletcher Jones Foundation contributed $500,000 toward the construction of Seaver College’s Life Sciences Building, which opened in 2015. The facility has been central to Dean Tina Choe’s multi-year effort to strengthen the college’s research infrastructure, improve faculty and student research productivity, and elevate LMU’s academic reputation. It was also a key factor in LMU’s elevation in 2017 to the high research category in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Now, the EIC promises to have a similarly transformative impact.
“The continuity of support from a foundation that is committed to higher education and understands the value of STEM education is galvanizing,” Choe said. “The EIC will be a catalyst for innovation and discovery and will enable us to fully optimize the student experience. I am grateful to have The Fletcher Jones Foundation as such a forward-thinking partner in this pivotal collaboration.”
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