Shady Side Academy receives largest gift in its 139-year history

Shady Side Academy has received the largest gift in the school’s 139-year history, a $15 million personal commitment from S. Kent Rockwell and his partner, Pat Babyak, in support of capital projects included in the school’s campus master plan.

“We are extraordinarily grateful to Kent Rockwell and Pat Babyak for this transformative gift and so inspired by the many possibilities it presents for Shady Side,” SSA President Bart Griffith Jr. said in announcing the gift Oct. 13.

Rockwell, of Fox Chapel, grew up in Edgewood and enrolled at Shady Side Academy in ninth grade, boarding on the Senior School campus.

“My Shady Side experience was very rewarding and pleasant,” said Rockwell. “There was a wonderful collegiality among my classmates, and I don’t think I ever had a teacher I didn’t like.”

He is chairman and CEO of Rockwell Venture Capital, a company he founded in 1983 that has invested in numerous technology companies. He is also chairman of the board of the S. Kent Rockwell Foundation, which focuses on philanthropic support of conservation, community, education and innovation.

His son, the late Jonathan “Corey” Rockwell graduated from Shady Side Academy in 1992.

Kent Rockwell graduated from SSA in 1962 and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and business from Lafayette College in Easton. He attended graduate school at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and built a successful career rooted in innovation and technology.

Rockwell and Babyak live less than a mile from the Senior School and often take walks on the 130-acre campus.

“After seeing all of the good things happening here and learning more about the vision for the campus master plan, we were enthusiastic about the opportunity to make a meaningful commitment. We encourage other members of the community to join us in supporting this exciting vision for Shady Side’s future,” Rockwell said.

Shady Side Academy is celebrating the centennial anniversary of its Senior School campus this year.

The Academy has been engaged in a comprehensive master planning process to ensure its physical spaces support innovative teaching and learning, deepen community connections and make SSA a more sustainable institution. The details of the plan, including specific initiatives to be funded by Rockwell’s gift, will be announced in the coming year.

“Their legacy will leave a lasting impact on the SSA student experience for generations, and our community could not be more grateful,” said SSA Chief Philanthropy Officer Dr. Allison Saras.

Previously, the largest gift in Shady Side’s history was a posthumous $9 million bequest from the estate of Grant M. Shipley, a member of the Class of 1942, upon his death in 2002.