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“Lorie and I and our board couldn’t be happier,” said Nick Howley during his Howley Dormitory Dedication Ceremony remarks on Oct. 19, Homecoming Day.

Howley said, “You couldn’t find a better fit for The Howley Foundation. We’re focused on providing high quality educational opportunities with character formation.” Howley and his wife Lorie, co-founded The Howley Foundation which generously donated the lead gift of $7 million for the construction project.

“Lorie and I and our board like to put our money where you get results and can see the outcome. That’s what is happening here. Now, 72 more boys have a wonderful opportunity. Williamson is a great place and you couldn’t find a better fit for our foundation.”

“You have over 200 companies pay money to attend your Career Fairs to interview students for employment. I think they do that because all the students here are special. You are educated. You are skilled. You’re reliable, honest, and you work hard and show up on time. What else could an employer want? That’s hard to find.”

He also said that most Williamson graduates find employment in their field and that if they don’t it’s because they don’t want one.

He added that enrollment to Williamson is in demand and there are more applicants than beds for all who would like to attend. “This is what made Williamson so attractive to us.”

In his remarks, President Michael Rounds said, “We are not just adding a new building; we are changing the lives of the young men who reside here and who will reside here in the future. Thanks to our funders, this new dormitory has allowed us to add housing for an additional 72 young men. These young men will have the trajectory of their lives changed forever in a positive way. They will go out into the world as Williamson men with our core values guiding them in all they do. They will make good husbands and fathers. They will be assets to their communities and they will make outstanding employees with a good work ethic and trade skills.”

“The construction of a new building is a major event at any college, but this is especially true at Williamson where every student is provided a full scholarship with room and board. Here, funding is a challenge and passing on that expense to our students by raising tuition like most other colleges do is definitely not an option.

“Building a new dormitory shows our commitment to providing this amazing opportunity to even more students and that means our supporters are truly making an investment in growing Williamson. Why do we want to grow? Last year, we had over 650 applicants, but only room to accept 124 of them.

“On the other end of the spectrum, we had 239 companies attend our two Career Fairs last year. All of these companies were competing to hire one of our 84 seniors. Because of this, we feel a responsibility to stretch as much as we can to expand the enrollment here. With the addition of this new dormitory, we were able to expand enrollment by nearly 25%. And, as a result, our total enrollment this year, at 322, is the highest it has been in our 136-year history. So, we offer a sincere thank you to all who supported this project.”

Rounds closed his remarks thanking Nick, Lorie, their daughter Meg Howley, and The Howley Foundation. “The Howley Foundation has also supported our marketing and admissions outreach to help us reach a greater number of talented and financially deserving students. In addition, the foundation supports 36 students through our named scholarship program. One third of our named scholarship scholars are Howley scholars. There is no doubt that the Howleys are having a tremendous impact here at Williamson and we are grateful and appreciative of this.”

He thanked Bob Reid of Spiezle Architectural Group for designing the dormitory; Tim Brown 0W1, vice president of operations, and Provost Todd Zachary for their work as the owner’s representatives in the construction process; and Mike Mullen, project executive, and Trustee Jim Obermeier, president and CEO of CYMA Builders and Construction Managers, for lending their expertise. He also thanked Williamson masonry students for building the exterior sign and the landscape construction and management students for doing the landscaping around the dormitory.

William Bonenberger 7W9, board chairman, said in his remarks “The Howley Foundation was created in 2001 by Nick and Lorie Howley out of their desire to support educational opportunities for economically disadvantaged young people with the focus on institutions with character formation culture and clear verifiable ways to measure the effectiveness of their program, with the goal of these students becoming productive adults. Does that sound to anyone like Williamson’s mission statement?

“Today, their daughter Meg Howley serves as the foundation’s executive director in the Philadelphia area and many Howley family members serve on its board. The foundation believes deeply that education is one of the most important catalysts for promoting positive change in individuals and society.”

The Howley Foundation provides tuition assistance to over 1,200 students in Cleveland, Ohio, and Philadelphia as well as high schools and colleges around the United States.

Nick Howley is the Founder and Chairman of Transdigm Group, Inc., The company is one of the largest worldwide designer, producer and supplier of highly engineered aircraft components, systems and subsystems. Additionally, Mr. Howley is Chairman of Perimeter Solutions, the largest worldwide provider of wildfire prevention products and services. Nick Howley is the founder, chairman, and trustee of The Howley Foundation.

He earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering at Drexel University and an MBA at Harvard Business School.

He is the 2022 recipient of the Singleton Prize for CEO Excellence given by the Singleton Foundation for Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship. In 2023, he delivered the keynote address at Williamson’s 133rd Commencement.

His nonprofit community service includes serving as national Chairman of the Cristo Rey Network Board.

Nick’s extensive charitable governance experience also includes service on the boards of Drexel University, Case Western Reserve University, The Cleveland Clinic, St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Washington and Jefferson College, St. Martin de Porres High School, Gilmour Academy as well as various public and private for-profit boards.

Lorie Howley, the co-founder of The Howley Foundation, studied ornamental horticulture and worked in the education department at Longwood Gardens where she developed teaching postsecondary and continuing education programs.

In 2001, she became the executive director of the foundation and in 2014, president of the board of directors. In these positions, she grew the scope of the organization. Today, she remains an active member of the Board.

She earned a bachelor of science degree in ornamental horticulture and a master’s degree in communications art at Cornell University.

Other funders of the dormitory construction project are: the Armstrong Foundation, Dan Baker, Baker Concrete Construction Enterprises, Crystal Trust, The McClean Contributionship, and an anonymous donor. Wendy McLean was in attendance representing The McLean Contributionship.

At the conclusion of the remarks, the dormitory was officially dedicated with the cutting of a ribbon on the front porch, by Nick and Lorie Howley, Rounds, Bonenberger, Specht, and members of The Howley Foundation.

The ceremony also included a reception in the first-floor dormitory lounge and a tour of that floor.

The ceremony began with an invocation by Rev. Dr. Mark Specht 7W7, chaplain, who also gave the benediction.