Robert J. Eaton, former Chrysler chairman, has pledged $5 million for the new engineering building at Kansas University’s main campus in Lawrence.

Eaton, who received a mechanical engineering degree from KU in 1963, will give $4 million in cash to the KU Endowment Association for the building, which will be dedicated in November.

¢Virtual tour of the building¢Construction Web cam

The Arkansas City native has also pledged an additional $1 million, to be paid over four years.

The building will be named for Eaton, pending approval by the Kansas Board of Regents during its 26 meeting.

The 80,000-square-foot building at the northwest corner of 15th Street and Naismith Drive will consolidate all of the School of Engineering’s academic programs into the engineering complex.

The $15 million project includes a multimedia classroom, several state-of-the-art instructional and computer laboratories, an atrium, the Engineering Career Services Center and the school’s administrative offices.

Eaton’s gift is among the top 10 largest single gifts received by KU Endowment.

“Bob Eaton forged his Kansas roots and KU education into a highly successful career that carried him across the world in the automotive industry,” said KU Chancellor Robert Hemenway. “His exceptional gift is the capstone on a multi-year fund-raising effort that has made the expansion of the KU School of Engineering possible.”

After graduating from KU, Eaton joined the General Motors Corp. in the Chevrolet Motors Division. In 1974, he was promoted to executive engineer. And in 1988, he was named president of General Motors in Europe.

He left GM in 1992 to become vice chairman and chief operating officer of the Chrysler Corp. He succeeded Lee C. Iacocca as chairman and CEO of the company.

He helped design the $76 billion merger between the company and Daimler-Bentz AG. After two years as chairman of DaimlerChrysler AG, he retired in 2000.

Eaton lives in Naples, Fla., with his wife, Connie, who attended KU and in 1966 received a bachelor’s degree in education from Wayne State University in Detroit. The couple has two children, Scott and Matthew.

Eaton’s gift will be matched with $130,000 from ChevronTexaco Corp., International Paper Co. and DaimlerChrysler. Eaton is a board member of International Paper and ChevronTexaco.

Eaton, a trustee of KU Endowment Association, received KU’s Distinguished Service Citation in 1994. The School of Engineering honored him with its Distinguished Engineering Service Award in 1995.

For more on this story, see the 6News report at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Sunflower Broadband’s Channel 6 and pick up a copy of Friday’s Journal-World.