Tired of squeaky chairs, coffee-stained carpets and the search for a desk with a power outlet when you go to the library? Well, those will be a thing of the past at the University of Arizona’s Science and Engineering Library thanks to a $7 million donation from the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation.

"We are all incredibly grateful to the Frederick Gardner Cottrell Foundation for its transformative generosity," UA President Robert C. Robbins said after the Oct. 5 naming ceremony.

The gift was recognized at last week’s ceremony to rename the library to the Albert B. Weaver Science-Engineering Library. The donation and name change mark the renovation of the library which will add student collaborative spaces on two floors adjacent to the libraries 260-seat collaborative classroom, the largest at the university.

The Cottrell foundation is the philanthropic arm of Research Corporation Technologies, a Tucson-based technology investment firm. The library’s new name comes from Albert B. Weaver who was appointed the head of the UA physics department in 1958 and later moved up to provost of academic affairs and vice president of the University. Weaver passed away in 2012.

"This gift honors the accomplishments of a past UA leader and makes our future more promising. It shows how powerful philanthropy is in shaping our campus and our identity," said John-Paul Roczniak, president and CEO of the UA Foundation.