Steve and Kathy McShane STEM Innovation Center will 'ensure our students remain competitive in the jobs of tomorrow'
WARREN — The De La Salle Collegiate community held a ground-blessing ceremony Oct. 10 in the school’s Bill Fox Gymnasium in celebration of the soon-to-be-built Steve and Kathy McShane STEM Innovation Center.
The construction of the STEM center is part of the first phase of De La Salle’s capital campaign, “Builders of Boys. Makers of Men. The Next 100 Years.” De La Salle is working toward its 100th anniversary, set to take place in fall 2026.
Work on the STEM center space, formerly the school’s library with several outer perimeter offices, began in early June.
The long-awaited STEM center project is being made possible thanks to a multi-million-dollar gift from Steve McShane, a 1961 De La Salle graduate, in the fall of 2023.
“I think the addition of a STEM-based center will be highly impactful,” McShane said.
Scott Husken, director of the new STEM center, agreed.
“We are very excited to continue our investment in the field of STEM,” Husken said. “This expansion will help our teachers to ensure that our students remain competitive for the jobs of tomorrow.”
McShane said he has high hopes and wants to make a difference for the students in future generations with the STEM center.
“My dream is ambitious: to transform De La Salle into one of the premier schools for STEM education in the state of Michigan, a school that kindles curiosity and promises fulfillment of that dream,” McShane said.
McShane has a great deal of experience in the area as the CEO of Midtronics, Inc., a global market leader in battery testers and diagnostic chargers for traditional electrical systems, as well as the service equipment for electric vehicle batteries.
McShane credits De La Salle as making a difference in his life and preparing him for a career in which technology has made a significant impact, but also for developing his character as a young man.
“My choice to go to De La Salle put me in a position to expand my educational experience and to get into college,” McShane said. “But, it also helped shape my moral compass and made me a more disciplined person.”
Fr. Brian Meldrum, a 2002 graduate from De La Salle Collegiate, gave the blessing.
Besides the McShanes, attendees at the event included major donors, members of the De La Salle board of trustees, members of the capital campaign steering committee, the construction and design team, the entire De La Salle student body, as well as faculty and staff.
Michelle Samartino, a freelance writer for Detroit Catholic, is the sports information director for De La Salle Collegiate.
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