A rendering of the Timashev Family Music Building that is under construction. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State
An Ohio State alum and his family donated $17 million to the College of Arts and Sciences, the largest individual or foundation donation in the college’s history, according to a Monday university press release.
The donation, made by Ratmir and Angela Timashev, will help fund current construction of a new music building to be named — pending Board of Trustees approval — the Timashev Family Music Building, the release states. Funds will also be used for the renovation of Celeste Laboratory of Chemistry and to establish endowed scholarships in the college.
“I will always be grateful for the opportunity Ohio State gave me to come over as a graduate student, which defined my career and life,” Ratmir Timashev, who also sits on the Ohio State Foundation Board of Directors, said in the release. “It is my privilege and honor to support Ohio State and its students, who all were given that same great opportunity to become a Buckeye.”
The music building is slated for completion in 2022 and will connect to the existing Weigel Hall. It is part of the university’s plans for its Arts District, which include renovations of the School of Music and construction of a new building for the Department of Theatre.
Ratmir Timashev graduated from Ohio State in 1996 with a masters in chemical physics after moving to the U.S. from Russia. He co-founded cloud data management company Veeam Software in 2006. The company, whose headquarters are based in Columbus, Ohio, donated $5 million to the College of Arts and Sciences in 2016 to fund student scholarships, teaching and research in data analytics and chemical physics, the release states.
“Ratmir and Angela’s wonderful gift through the Timashev Family Foundation will elevate our Columbus campus and university broadly for generations to come,” University President Michael V. Drake said in the release. “Through their incredible generosity, they will help cultivate the talents of countless Buckeye students and faculty while inspiring enthusiasts of music and the arts throughout our community and across the world.”
