The College of Science at UNC Charlotte is now the Klein College of Science, housed in Klein Hall.
The renaming, announced Tuesday, honors Charlotte community leaders Gené and Fred Klein, who made a $10 million investment in the science college. Charlotte developer Fred Klein was honored in May with UNC Charlotte’s Distinguished Service Award, reflecting his long support for the campus.
The Kleins’ most recent gift will support scholarships, professorships, faculty recruitment and research.
“The generosity of Gené and Fred Klein will help provide the resources our university needs to continue our momentum as this region’s great public research university,” says Chancellor Sharon Gaber in a release. “Our anticipated Carnegie R1 designation in 2025 and ongoing rapid climb in national rankings are further bolstered by a strong, vibrant Klein College of Science.”
The College of Science comprises the departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics and Optical Science as well as the Botanical Gardens. The Klein College of Science is home to more than 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students and provides general education requirements to other undergraduate students.
The building opened in 2022 for $101 million, including $80.1 million in construction costs. The 125,660-square-foot, three-story building, with a basement level, was built by Balfour Beatty and designed by Clark Nexsen and Payette.
Fred Klein earned an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Gené Klein spent the early part of her career as a math educator.
“Math and science are essential in cultivating critical thinking skills, regardless of a student’s future career path,” said Fred Klein in a release. “I have used foundational principles I learned in physics and other science classes throughout my real estate career.
“Not only are the faculty and students in the College of Science conducting groundbreaking research that will transform the university and our city, but the college is ensuring all graduates of UNC Charlotte are well-prepared and highly competitive when they enter the workforce.”
Fred Klein is a founding partner of Childress Klein, which has developed many of the city’s most prominent landmarks.
Klein came to Charlotte in the late 1970s to work for Dallas-based Trammell Crow, then one of the nation’s largest developers. In 1988, he and partner Don Childress split off to form Childress Klein, starting with a couple of one-story buildings. The firm took off after starting Charlotte Plaza, a 27-story tower in downtown Charlotte.
Childress Klein later developed the 42-story First Union Center building, known as the “Jukebox” building and several other skyscrapers in Charlotte’s center city. Most recently, it developed Duke Energy’s new 40-story headquarters, while it has vast holdings in warehouses, retail centers and multifamily housing. Klein said the firm has $3 billion invested in real estate, mostly in the Charlotte area.
Former Gov. Pat McCrory named Klein to UNC Charlotte’s Board of Trustees in 2015, and he served two four-year terms. He was instrumental in starting the school’s Childress Klein Center for Real Estate and helping the university open an affiliated Marriott hotel adjacent to the north Mecklenburg County campus.”
“I think it’s fair to say that Charlotte’s growth has been driven by three things: the banks, the airport and a strong research university,” he said. “UNC Charlotte has been and will continue to be a key factor in the Charlotte region’s growth and prosperity. Gené and I have always been proud to be part of UNC Charlotte, and we are honored to invest in its future.”
In 2023, Klein was named an honorary alumnus by the UNC Charlotte Alumni Association.