Mike Wicks, who earned his master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 1993, has donated $1.5 million to name the largest room in UAH's new Raymond B. Jones Engineering Building, the university announced September 17, 2026.

The gift names the multi-purpose room the Wicks Family Innovation Hall. UAH is part of the University of Alabama System, and the UA System Board of Trustees voted to approve the gift at its annual meeting September 11, 2026, in Tuscaloosa, according to the UAH announcement. The building is the new home of a College of Engineering that UAH put at more than 2,850 students when it broke ground on the project in 2023.

Key Details

• Amount: $1.5 million, donated by Mike Wicks, a 1993 UAH mechanical engineering master's graduate and a Huntsville native.
• Names: the Wicks Family Innovation Hall, the multi-purpose room in the Raymond B. Jones Engineering Building at UAH.
• Approved: the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees voted to accept the gift at its annual meeting on September 11, 2026, in Tuscaloosa.
• Announced: The University of Alabama in Huntsville, September 17, 2026.
• The building: the Raymond B. Jones Engineering Building, approximately 77,000 square feet, at a Phase I estimated cost of $62.38 million as stated by UAH at the April 14, 2023 groundbreaking.
• Timeline: construction completion in July 2026, occupancy in fall 2026 and classes beginning in spring 2027, according to a UAH construction update.

What the $1.5 Million Gift Names at UAH

The Wicks Family Innovation Hall will be the largest room in the Raymond B. Jones Engineering Building and the most utilized, according to the UAH announcement. The room can serve as a classroom, can be subdivided into two smaller rooms, and can be converted into space for meetings and events.

The UAH announcement did not state how much has been raised for the building overall, whether the $1.5 million is paid as a lump sum or over a period of years, or when the hall will open to students.

Why the UAH Alumnus Gave

Mike Wicks tied the gift to his own education and to the building's namesake. "UAH is such a treasure and an asset in this community… For me personally, UAH made a profound difference in my education and my career, and it just seemed like a natural thing to give back," Wicks said in the university's announcement.

The building honors Ray Jones, a longtime business and community leader and a past chairman of the UAH Foundation, according to UAH. Wicks said Jones was an old family friend. "Mr. Ray and (his wife) Libby Jones have been in my life since I was a toddler. I've enjoyed lifelong relationships with them, their children and their grandchildren," Wicks said.

Wicks also credited the working engineers who teach at UAH. "Some of them are coming from their aerospace and defense jobs to teach at night," he said in the announcement.

From Army Missile Command to i3: The Donor's Career

Mike Wicks came to UAH after earning a bachelor's degree at Auburn University and starting his career with the U.S. Army Missile Command, according to the UAH announcement. Wicks worked in the field for nearly 45 years, first as an Army civilian and then as a private contractor for the Department of Defense, and founded several engineering and technical services firms, among them Summit Research Corp. and Integration Innovation Inc. (i3).

The Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame, which inducted Wicks in its 2023 class, states in his member biography that he co-founded Summit Research Corp. in 2001 and that the firm reached more than 100 employees and $30 million in annual revenue by 2005.

The same Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame biography states that Wicks founded i3 in 2009 and led the company for 11 years, during which it grew to more than 700 employees and $220 million in annual revenue. Those employee and revenue figures come from the hall of fame's biography; UAH's announcement does not state them.

Wicks gives through the Wicks Family Foundation, formed with his wife, Christine, and through the i3 Cares Foundation, according to UAH. His son and daughter-in-law, Chandler Wicks and Chelsea Lavish Wicks, both graduated from UAH's engineering program in 2013. Wicks became CEO of Houston-based Diakonos Oncology in 2022; he said in the announcement that he had cancer 15 years ago and began looking into immunotherapies afterward.

Where the Jones Engineering Building Stands

UAH broke ground on the Raymond B. Jones Engineering Building on April 14, 2023, and said then that the facility carried a Phase I estimated cost of $62.38 million, funded through a State Legislature appropriation and support from the UAH Foundation.

The finished building measures approximately 77,000 square feet, UAH confirmed. The university's 2023 groundbreaking announcement had described the project at 80,000 square feet, and its September 17, 2026 announcement of the Wicks gift states no square footage and no updated construction cost.

A UAH construction update lists completion in July 2026, building occupancy in fall 2026 and classes beginning in spring 2027. UAH has continued to add engineering and research capacity on the same campus, including the Southeastern Quantum Collaborative, whose first colloquium drew about 250 attendees, and corporate partnerships at its Invention to Innovation Center, which Microsoft joined in February 2026.

What This Means for North Alabama

Redstone Arsenal covers 38,000 acres and hosts more than 65 federal organizations and contractor operations employing more than 45,000 people, according to the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber. UAH's College of Engineering enrolled more than 2,850 students as of the building's groundbreaking, and the two firms Mike Wicks founded, Summit Research Corp. and i3, were both built in that contracting economy.

The Jones Engineering Building draws on two funding channels that recur throughout Huntsville business news: a State Legislature appropriation and UAH Foundation support for the structure itself, per UAH's groundbreaking announcement, and private gifts that name spaces inside it, of which the Wicks gift is the one UAH has disclosed.

The UAH announcement did not project how many additional students the Jones Engineering Building will accommodate, did not name a total fundraising goal for the project, and did not identify other named spaces in the building. Those figures would be needed to measure the gift against the project's full cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Mike Wicks?

Mike Wicks is a Huntsville native who earned a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 1993 and a bachelor's degree from Auburn University. He founded Summit Research Corp. and Integration Innovation Inc. (i3), and he became CEO of Houston-based Diakonos Oncology in 2022.

What did the $1.5 million donation to UAH pay for?

The $1.5 million donation from Mike Wicks names the multi-purpose room in UAH's new Raymond B. Jones Engineering Building the Wicks Family Innovation Hall. UAH says the room is the building's largest, can serve as a classroom, can be subdivided into two rooms, and can be converted for meetings and events.

When will the Raymond B. Jones Engineering Building open?

A UAH construction update lists July 2026 for construction completion, fall 2026 for building occupancy and spring 2027 for the start of classes in the Raymond B. Jones Engineering Building. UAH broke ground on the project on April 14, 2023.

Who was Raymond B. Jones?

Raymond B. Jones was a longtime business and community leader and a past chairman of the UAH Foundation, according to the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The university named its new engineering building for him, and donor Mike Wicks described Jones as an old family friend.

Who approved the UAH gift?

The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees voted to approve the Wicks gift at its annual meeting on September 11, 2026, in Tuscaloosa, according to the UAH announcement. UAH is one of the three campuses in the University of Alabama System.

The next verifiable milestone is occupancy. UAH's construction update schedules the Raymond B. Jones Engineering Building for completion in July 2026 and classes in spring 2027, which would put the first students in the Wicks Family Innovation Hall in the spring semester.

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