UWindsor law building transformation getting $3M boost

The University of Windsor sign is shown in this file photo in Windsor, Ont., on Nov.16. 2012. (Melanie Borrelli / CTV Windsor)

Windsor, Ont. — The University of Windsor law building transformation project is getting a $3-million boost from the Don Rodzik Foundation.

A $30-million transformation is planned for the current Ron W. Ianni Faculty of Law building.

University of Windsor president Rob Gordon and Faculty of Law dean Chris Waters were joined by Don Rodzik Sr. and members of the Rodzik family at an on-campus event announcing the gift.

“We are immensely proud of our Windsor roots and it has always been important to me and my family to educate, to mentor, to continually improve, to invest, and help our community to succeed,” said Rodzik Sr.

“Our family believes in the power of higher education and the enrichment to those who seek it. The opportunity to improve education is our key motivation in making this gift.”

The project, expected to begin in January 2021, is being spearheaded by Diamond Schmitt Architects and aims to reimagine the current law building into an environment that provides better space for teaching, learning, and collaboration, while serving the accessibility needs of a diverse population in a warm and welcoming way.

The Rodzik family’s gift will support the new building’s Don Rodzik Moot Court; the Don & Gail Rodzik Law Library; and the Don Rodzik Family chair in Law and Entrepreneurship.

Gordon called the family’s gift “inspirational” and a testament to the importance of relationships built between the University of Windsor and the community it serves.

“The University of Windsor is tremendously grateful to the Rodzik family today for their very generous and meaningful gift, and for the ongoing support and guidance Don Rodzik Jr. has provided as a member of the TWL committee,” Gordon said.