The Frederick Gunn School, a co-ed boarding and day school in Washington, Connecticut, has announced a $25 million gift to fund construction of the Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch Center for Innovation and Active Citizenship.

The gift from alumnus Jonathan M. Tisch, co-chairman of Loews Corporation and co-owner of the New York Giants, and his wife Lizzie, is the largest in the history of the school, which was founded in 1850. Scheduled to be complete by 2023, the academic building will enable the school of 315 students to house its interdisciplinary science, math, engineering, technology, entrepreneurship, and citizenship curriculum in one location, and will include state-of-the-art lab facilities.

The Frederick Gunn School’s interdisciplinary curriculum is connected to a four-year program of active citizenship development, where students are expected to “learn what it means to be a citizen in the [twenty-first] century.” To that end, students experience learning environments dedicated to helping them to be curious, solve problems, take risks, think independently, and develop strength of character and learning environments that promote rigorous and reasoned dialogue, rational debate, and, ultimately, active citizenship.

“The Frederick Gunn School is changing the way people think about what a school is capable of doing,” said Lizzie and Jonathan Tisch. “We are excited to help accelerate this transformation.”

“There is no better environment for a teenager to explore being an active and engaged member of a community than at boarding school,” said head of school Peter Becker. “The generosity of Lizzie and Jon will immediately contribute to the ... programming initiatives already underway that build on [our] values that so profoundly encourage active citizenship.”

(Photo credit: Frederick Gunn School)