Shady Side Academy on Thursday announced a $15 million donation — the largest monetary commitment in its nearly 140-year-old history — from an alumnus and his partner who said they wanted to give a meaningful gift to the school.
S. Kent Rockwell, chairman and CEO of Rockwell Venture Capital, and his partner, Pat Babyak, provided the donation to help support capital projects included in the school’s master plan.
Mr. Rockwell, a 1962 Shady Side Academy graduate, lives less than a mile away and often take walks through the senior school’s 130-acre Fox Chapel campus, where he said he still sees the same sense of community and belonging that made his student experience rewarding along with room for growth.
“Recently, Pat and I started talking about making some larger gifts close to home, while we still have the opportunity to see them bear fruit,” Mr. Rockwell said. “After seeing all of the good things happening here and learning more about the vision for the campus master plan, we were enthusiastic about the opportunity to make a meaningful commitment.”
Shady Side Academy said its master plan will make sure the school’s physical spaces support innovative teaching and learning, deepen community connections, and make it a more sustainable institution. Details of the master plan and what will be funded by the donation from Mr. Rockwell and Ms. Babyak will be announced in the coming year, according to the school.
Bart Griffith Jr., president of Shady Side Academy, said the gift will help make the school a top institution for years to come.
“We are extraordinarily grateful to Kent Rockwell and Pat Babyak for this transformative gift and so inspired by the many possibilities it presents for Shady Side,” Mr. Griffith said. “Kent and Pat’s support for our dynamic, ambitious campus master plan will serve to enrich student experience and ensure the academy remains a vital and leading educational institution for generations.”
Mr. Rockwell earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and business from Lafayette College in Easton after his graduation from Shady Side Academy, then attended graduate school at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
In 1983, Mr. Rockwell founded Rockwell Venture Capital, a company that has invested in numerous technology companies since its inception. He also serves as chairman of the S. Kent Rockwell Foundation, which focuses on philanthropic support of conservation, community, education and innovation.
An Edgewood native, Mr. Rockwell enrolled at Shady Side Academy in ninth grade and boarded on the senior school’s campus.
“My Shady Side experience was very rewarding and pleasant,” he said. “There was a wonderful collegiality among my classmates, and I don’t think I ever had a teacher I didn’t like.”
The previous largest gift in the school’s history was a $9 million posthumous bequest in 2002 from the estate of alumnus Grant M. Shipley.
“The charitable support that Kent and Pat have provided Shady Side Academy places them among other prominent Pittsburgh philanthropists who have stepped up at opportune moments in the school’s history,” said Allison Saras, the school’s chief philanthropy officer. “Their legacy will leave a lasting impact on the SSA student experience for generations, and our community could not be more grateful.”
First Published: October 13, 2022, 4:51 p.m.
Updated: October 14, 2022, 1:02 p.m.
