On Tuesday, April 28, 2015, Kettering University announced a $4 million gift from the the General Motors Foundation and the General Motors Company that will provide transformational spaces for faculty, students and industry.  

The $2 million gift from the GM Foundation will enable Kettering to construct Kettering University’s GM Mobility Research Center, an automotive proving ground on a piece of campus that is of historical significance to GM as the former site of the Chevrolet Division, or ‘Chevy in the Hole.’ The proving ground will be built on a 19-acre parcel of land at the corner of Chevrolet Avenue and Bluff Street.

The $2 million gift from General Motors Company will allow Kettering to construct a new powertrain lab in the C.S. Mott Science and Engineering building. The GM Advanced Powertrain Research Lab will provide students with state-of-the-art equipment and enhanced hands-on learning opportunities that supplement what they are learning in their classroom and co-op employment experiences.

Below is a compilation of media coverage from the announcement:

Bloomberg Business: “This will be a real driver of economic activity in Flint and the university,” said Robert McMahan, the university’s president.

MLive/The Flint Journal: "This is our home. This is a shared journey ... to revitalize this space, this community and this economy," said Kettering University President Robert McMahan ... We believe in investing in the future of this great city."

Detroit Free Press: "These facilities will provide unparalleled educational opportunities for our students. The automotive proving ground, in particular, will serve as a model for create development of brownfield sites and industrial land nationwide and a great symbol of the continued turnaround in the city of Flint."

The Detroit News: The Detroit automaker said the $2 million donation from the GM Foundation will allow Kettering to build the GM Mobility Research Center, an automotive proving ground built on 19 acres on the former site of GM’s Chevrolet division called “Chevy in the Hole.”

MLive/The Flint Journal: "It will give Kettering and Flint a facility where companies from all around the world will come to conduct meaningful industry research with our amazing faculty and our students," said Kettering President Robert McMahan.

ABC 12: "To image this as a test track for hybrid vehicles and alternative energy, autonomous vehicle technology all happening right here along the banks of the Flint River, this is going to be a place that makes history again in the 21st Century," said Flint Mayor Dayne Walling.

NBC 25: "This is just one of the many ways in which the "Chevy-in-the-Hole" site, which used to house multiple General Motors manufacturing facilities, is being transformed. Along with the proving ground, a park is also being built nearby."