Ohio Ag Connection - $17 Million Gift Largest by Individual in OSU College

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$17 Million Gift Largest by Individual in OSU College
Ohio Ag Connection - 06/02/2020

The Ohio State University alumnus Ratmir Timashev MS '96 and his wife, Angela Timashev, have committed their charitable foundation to provide $17 million to the College of Arts and Sciences. This gift -- the largest philanthropic contribution made by an individual or foundation in the college's history -- will support construction of a new music building as part of the university's emerging Arts District. It will also support the renovation of Celeste Laboratory of Chemistry and create endowed scholarships for Arts and Sciences students.

In recognition of this incredible generosity, the new music building will be named the Timashev Family Music Building, pending approval by the Board of Trustees.

Equipped with modern performance and practice spaces and venues with the capacity to host world-class performers, visiting faculty and free community-wide performances, the Timashev Family Music Building will be among the most acoustically and technologically advanced facilities in the nation upon its completion in 2022. This new facility, connecting to the existing Weigel Hall, will bring together all music education and instruction under one roof.

"Ratmir and Angela's wonderful gift through the Timashev Family Foundation will elevate our Columbus campus and university broadly for generations to come," said President Michael V. Drake. "Through their incredible generosity, they will help cultivate the talents of countless Buckeye students and faculty while inspiring enthusiasts of music and the arts throughout our community and across the world."

Timashev co-founded Veeam Software, a global leader in cloud data management, whose Americas headquarters are based in Columbus. In 2016, Veeam gifted the College of Arts and Sciences $5 million from the company to support student scholarships, teaching and research in data analytics and chemical physics. Insight Partners, a global venture capital and technology private equity firm, acquired Veeam earlier this year.

"I will always be grateful for the opportunity Ohio State gave me to come over as a graduate student, which defined my career and life," said Timashev, who also sits on the Ohio State Foundation Board of Directors. "It is my privilege and honor to support Ohio State and its students, who all were given that same great opportunity to become a Buckeye."

Timashev's support of the Celeste Laboratory renovation honors his former mentor, Dr. Terry Miller, emeritus professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. It was Miller who recruited Timashev to Ohio State.

"Virtually no area of the college remains untouched by Ratmir and Angela's generosity," said Gretchen Ritter, executive dean and vice provost of the College of Arts and Sciences. "As a result of this transformational gift, Ohio State students of all majors will have opportunities to study, perform and learn in the world-class Timashev Family Music Building and renovated Celeste Laboratory. We are profoundly grateful for this support of our people and our programs."

Born in Russia, Timashev studied physics at the top science school in the nation, the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, before coming to Ohio State in 1992. Three years later, Timashev founded Aelita Software with his business partner Andrei Baronov, which they later sold to Quest Software. In 2006, Timashev and Baronov co-founded Veeam.

Now, during this critical moment in the university's Time and Change: The Ohio State Campaign, Timashev is supporting people and programs, spaces and places - the environments in which Ohio State students and faculty learn, research, gather, perform and thrive.

Importantly, the Timashev Family Music Building will help tell Timashev's inspiring story of success and of gratitude - the story of an international student who found a home on campus, leveraged his education to become a successful technology entrepreneur, and now serves as a powerful reminder that all are welcome at Ohio State.

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