The Kresge Foundation of Troy, Michigan, has awarded a $600,000 challenge grant to Mount Saint Mary College to help fund construction of its new Mathematics, Science & Technology Center and the expansion and renovation of its nursing laboratories.

In order to meet the challenge and receive the grant, the college must raise just over $2.2 million in new gifts and pledges to its Answering the Call fundraising campaign by July 1, 2008. The campaign has a goal of $10 million and has raised over $7.1 million to date, including a $5 million lead gift from the Kaplan Family Foundations, according to Bryan Maloney, the Mount’s vice president for college advancement.

“With the aid of this challenge grant, we hope that the Mount’s Answering the Call campaign can become an even more strategic opportunity for the college to connect with its stakeholders and reach out to new donors, volunteers and the general community,” said Rip Rapson, president and CEO of The Kresge Foundation. He cited the Mount’s “compelling strategy” to leverage the Kresge Challenge Grant to build additional alumni and community support.

“The Kresge Challenge Grant is an affirmation of the importance of this project to our region and we are grateful for the confidence that The Kresge Foundation has placed in Mount Saint Mary College,” said Sr. Ann Sakac, the Mount’s president. “This challenge provides a vital rallying point for the community to help Mount Saint Mary “answer the call” to meet pressing needs that will greatly affect the future of our region.”

The United States is facing a severe shortage of nurses and has a strong need for qualified mathematics and science teachers. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the nursing shortage will intensify as baby boomers age and health care needs grow. At the same time, educators, business leaders and government officials continue to express concern that U. S. students are falling behind those of other developed countries in mathematics and science, which drive innovation in the global economy.

The Mount has established a strong reputation for preparing nurses and teachers, and both its nursing and education programs are nationally accredited. Enrollment in the college’s nursing, education and natural science programs has grown considerably. The new 53,000-square-foot Mathematics, Science & Technology Center and expansion and renovation of its nursing labs will enable the college to meet the demand for its programs and increase its response to local, regional and national needs for nurses and teachers.

The new center’s laboratories will facilitate the Mount’s inquiry-based, hands-on approach to the sciences and support the biology and chemistry courses required of nursing students. To learn more about the Mathematics, Science & Technology Center and the Answering the Call campaign, contact Bryan Maloney at 845-569-3216 or maloney@msmc.edu.

Information from: www.midhudsonnews.com

This entry was posted by Taman Siswa on Friday, June 15, 2007 at 9:52 pm and is filed under College Grant, Education News. Tags: College, Education News, Grant, Student, . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.