Spotila family’s donation challenge sets stage for new chemistry lab

VASJ’s venerable chemistry lab – the incubator for hundreds of health and science careers since it was constructed in 1950 – is poised for the final phase of a complete replacement this summer.

The reconstruction and modernization project has been put within reach thanks to a $25,000 challenge match donation put forward by the Spotila family – Sr. Loretta Spotila, CSA, and her brothers James and John – all distinguished graduates of the school.

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Sister Loretta, Villa Angela Academy Class of 1959, is Director of the Interfaith Wellness Ministry in Irvine, Kentucky.

James Spotila, Ph.D., St. Joseph High School Class of 1962, is the L. Drew Betz Chair Professor, Department of Biodiversity, Earth & Environmental Science, at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

John Spotila, St. Joseph High School Class of 1964, is the Chief Executive Officer of R3i Solutions, a government contracting firm in Fairfax, Virginia. He served President Clinton as Administrator of the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs. Before coming to the White House, he served as General Counsel for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“We are tremendously grateful to the Spotila family,” said VASJ President Richard Osborne ’69. “We are depending on additional supporters to meet the challenge so we can start the job as soon as this year’s classes end in June.”

Phase One of the $200,000 project was completed two years ago through a grant from the Lubrizol Foundation and donations from numerous alums. That phase included new perimeter cabinetry, a new ceiling, new fume head, new sinks, bulletin boards and improved lighting as well as several safety features including new eyewash stations and safety showers.

Phase Two is an “all-or-nothing” project, Osborne explains. Because it requires excavation of the floor, the project cannot begin until all money has been raised. With funds from a second Lubrizol grant as well as a $50,000 grant from the Diocese of Cleveland’s Rooted in Faith campaign, the project was about halfway to realizing its goal when the Spotilas announced their donation challenge.

The family’s generosity will enable VASJ to enhance student learning with new, state-of-the-art workstations, which will include running water, electric and gas at each station.

VASJ Science Chair Melissa Grai explains that the new workstations will allow more time to be spent on curriculum instruction and less time collecting and cleaning materials and will be equipped with larger surface space with room for more advanced experiments and demonstrations.

“They will model what students should expect to see in college labs and in the business world,” Grai says.

The renovation will also allow VASJ to reorganize the layout of the lab to include a teacher workstation more centrally located in the room to enhance learning and understanding.

“The new layout will allow me to enrich the lessons by giving more engaging demonstrations and explaining the labs more fully while the students have the materials in front of them,” Grai adds.

With much emphasis placed on STEM courses (science, technology, engineering and math), it is Grai’s hope that a new lab will inspire students to spend more time in the lab and get them excited about science.

“I want to see excitement in their eyes and hear them say, 'This is a place I want to be,' ” Grai says.

VASJ junior Chad Porter says a new lab would do just that. Having spent his last summer researching cancer in a lab at Case Western Reserve University as a part of the university’s Scientific Enrichment and Opportunity program, Chad knows what a state-of-the-art lab looks like and what it could mean for students at VASJ.

“The labs there had newer technology and a lot more space for research,” Chad says. “With more space, our teachers will be able to prepare more labs for us to do and it would make more students interested in the field. When you are interested in things you work harder and your test scores go up.”

With dollars donated being matched by the Spotila family in the $25,000 challenge, now is a great time for donors to make a significant impact with their gifts to VASJ’s chemistry lab renovation.

“Every donation will get VASJ closer to the goal of providing our students with the best possible tools to prepare them for their future,” says VASJ Principal David Csank . "A new chemistry lab will allow our students the opportunity to learn using 21st-century equipment and technology. The skills they will learn in the new lab will serve them well throughout their entire lives, whether they go into a chemistry-related field or not.”

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