Kansas Wesleyan University :: News :: KWU Surpasses goal for new Student Activities Center ::

KWU surpasses fund-raising goal
for Student Activities Center project

MEDIA CONTACT: Leslie Eikleberry, Director of Public Relations, 785-827-5541 ext. 1127

January 17, 2006

Kansas Wesleyan University has surpassed its $6 million Student Activities Center fund-raising goal, President Philip P. Kerstetter announced this morning.

“I am quite pleased to announce that we did it!” Kerstetter said. “The generosity of those contributing to the project is truly a testament to people’s belief in and support of Kansas Wesleyan University.”

As of today (January 17), $6,126,001.74 in gifts and pledges has been collected. By hitting the $6 million mark, Kansas Wesleyan also met the criteria for securing the
$1.2 million challenge grant from the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Foundation of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The University announced the Mabee challenge grant on January 25, 2005, and had until January 12, 2006, to reach the $6 million mark on the capital campaign.

“We have received notification from the Mabee Foundation that we have, indeed, secured the $1.2 million grant,” Kerstetter said.

Kerstetter said it was important to note that thanks to the generosity of private donors, no student fee money will be used to fund the Kansas Wesleyan Student Activities Center project. In all, more than 800 donors contributed to the campaign, with Kansas Wesleyan University alumni contributing 40 percent of the funds raised, while KWU trustees contributed 20 percent. Additionally, the campaign garnered the University 64 first-time donors.

The next step, Kerstetter said, is to finish architectural plans and put the project out for bid. University officials anticipate breaking ground on the project in late spring 2006.

Although plans for the Student Activities Center project are moving forward, Kerstetter noted that the fund-raising component of the project will continue.

“We are still in discussions with several potential donors and are continuing our brick campaign as well,” Kerstetter said. “We wanted to go ahead and announce that we have reached the $6 million mark because people have been asking us whether we were successful in securing the funding from the Mabee Foundation.”

As a part of fund-raising efforts for the new Student Activities Center, Kansas Wesleyan is providing an option for people to purchase named bricks to be used in the project.

The more than 50,000-square-foot facility will be built onto the existing Muir Gymnasium on the northeast corner of the Kansas Wesleyan campus. A variety of amenities make the new Student Activities Center a place to build community, whether it is campus, alumni, church, or Salina related, Kerstetter said. Plans for the facility include student-related offices, meeting rooms, the campus bookstore, a snack bar, a game room, and email centers. The athletic component of the facility will include a weight room, offices for coaches, locker rooms, and a performance gymnasium.

Founded in 1886, Kansas Wesleyan University is a values-centered, faith-based institution of higher education offering programs in the arts, sciences, and professional studies. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and located in Salina, Kansas.