STATE UNIVERSITIES
Wayne State Law School receives $10 million grant
Real estate developers, professional sports team owners and alumni Stephen M. Ross and Dan Gilbert today announced their intentions to donate $5 million each to Wayne State University Law School, for a joint gift of $10 million. Both gifts represent the largest donations in the law school’s history. Ross and Gilbert’s gifts will create the Benson Legacy Fund for Wayne Law and the Benson Endowed Enhancement Fund for Wayne Law.
WMU opens new $55,000 solar energy garden
A large-scale solar garden was recently installed by Consumers Energy and activated on the Western Michigan University Parkview Campus. Consumers provided $55,000 for WMU to construct a small, two-unit solar garden for educational purposes. Visible to motorists traveling along U.S. 131, the project consists of a photovoltaic array of some 4,000 solar panels on 8.5 acres of land. WMU’s solar garden will add 1 megawatt of electricity to the electrical grid, or enough energy to power 200 typical homes.
PEER INSTITUTIONS
UC Berkeley to partner in $600M Chan Zuckerberg science ‘Biohub’
University of California, Berkeley; University of California, San Francisco; and Stanford University will join forces in a new medical science research center funded by a $600 million commitment from Facebook CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg and pediatrician Priscilla Chan. The independent collaboration is the first philanthropic science investment made by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, which is dedicated to “advancing human potential and promoting equality.”
University of Chicago launches college attainment gap initiative
The University of Chicago’s Urban Education Institute and Network for College Success are launching a new initiative to help more Chicago high schoolers graduate from college, anchored by a first-of-its-kind online data tool for schools and families. The To&Through campaign combines publicly available research and data on key milestones for students to attain a college degree with school-level training and resources.
University of Iowa breaks ground on pharmacy building
On Thursday the University of Iowa will officially break ground on a new $96.3 million pharmacy building that will feature cutting-edge research laboratories, innovative technology, and collaborative learnings spaces. The new high-tech facility will complement the college’s new curriculum and help Iowa secure its place as one of the nation’s elite pharmacy programs.
— Compiled by Meg Bauer, The University Record
