Engineering graduate students will have a centralized gathering place with office space and meeting facilities as a result of a $500,000 contribution from UCSB Foundation Trustee Richard A. Auhll.

The recent gift will support the expansion and renovation of an existing pavilion located in the courtyard of Engineering II. It will be named the Richard A. Auhll Engineering Graduate Student Pavilion in honor of the donor.

“The creation of this enhanced space will markedly improve the facilities and environment for many of the College of Engineering’s graduate students,” said Matthew Tirrell, Richard A. Auhll professor and dean of engineering. “We are very grateful to have the opportunity, through Richard Auhll’s gift, to make this building into a hub of graduate student life in the college.”

Auhll, a national business leader, is a generous benefactor and volunteer leader at UCSB. Previously, he established an endowed chair for the dean of engineering. An aerospace engineer by training, Auhll earned an M.B.A. degree from Harvard University.

Auhll was founder, president, and chairman of the board of Circon Corporation for 30 years before his retirement in 1998. Under his direction, Circon became the largest U.S. producer of medical endoscopes and color video systems for minimally invasive surgery. He has served as a trustee of the UCSB Foundation since 1994 and is a former chair of the foundation.