EVSC Foundation Announces “Robert D. Orr Learning Commons”

EVSC Foundation Announces “Robert D. Orr Learning Commons”

EVSC Foundation, in partnership with the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, is taking the opportunity to honor the legacy and memory of former Indiana Governor Robert D. Orr by creating a state-of-the-art learning commons in the new McCutchanville Elementary School. The new northside elementary school is built near the location of where the Orr family lived for three generations.

“Bob Orr believed that Indiana should strive toward broader horizons,” said Randall T. Shepard, retired Chief Justice of Indiana and former Evansville resident and friend. “He viewed education as crucial to building a better future, and his work as our state’s leader led him to be called the first ‘education Governor.’  The Robert D. Orr Learning Commons will be close to his home and close to his heart.”

Orr was an Evansville businessman, community leader, and advocate of education. As the forty-fifth Governor of Indiana from 1981-1989, Governor Orr championed investments in economic development, international trade and improvements in public education in Indiana. He initiated many educational reforms that left a positive and lasting impact on students and teachers.

The Robert D. Orr Learning Commons, as the hub and centerpiece of the school, provides an open, interactive area while educating future generations of Governor Orr’s history and important work as a leader in our community.

Leading Evansville businessmen, Robert E. Griffin; Robert Koch of Koch Enterprises; Honorable Chief Justice Randall Shepard; Dan Carwile of Old National Bank; along with Indianapolis business leaders John Hammond, partner Ice Miller, and Bob Grand, managing partner Barnes & Thornburg LLP, generously kicked-off this effort to honor Robert D. Orr and fully equip the commons with technology, library materials, and furniture to provide optimal educational opportunities.

For more information on the Robert D. Orr Learning Commons or to make a gift or pledge, please call EVSC Foundation at 812-435-0913 or visit evscfoundation.org.