STATE UNIVERSITIES
Wayne State receives $40M gift for new Detroit business school
Detroit entrepreneurs Mike and Marian Ilitch are donating $40 million to Wayne State University. The gift will build the new Mike Ilitch School of Business located in Detroit. The gift is the largest in the history of the university and is part of the university’s Pivotal Moments campaign. The gift includes $35 million to the construction of the new facility and a $5 million endowment upon completion. The facility, located in The District Detroit, is expected to open in 2018.
Michigan Tech receives $1M endowment for computer science
Michigan Technological University received an estate gift of $1 million from Donn and Liza Schneider to establish the Donn and Liza Schneider Endowed Professorship in Computer Science. The gift will allow faculty and students to conduct research, while an additional $500,000 gift will provide postdoctoral fellowship support within in the department of computer science.
PEER INSTITUTIONS
Ohio State receives $10M for to enhance university’s airport
The Austin E. Knowlton Foundation donated $10 million to The Ohio State University for the enhancement of aviation education and research. The gift will support the construction of a new education and research facility with flight simulators, research labs and classrooms. It also will renovate the university’s airport terminal, integrating education with airport operations.
Harvard and MIT cancer research partnerships gifted $20M
The Commonwealth Foundation for Cancer Research announced a $20 million donation to the Bridge Project, a collaboration between the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT and the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. The project was launched to connect bioengineering, cancer science, and oncology developments to solve problems in cancer research and care. Distributed over the course of five years, the funding will create grants for the creation of research teams. Both MIT and Harvard are fundraising to match the donation.
Purdue receives $3M grant from Navy for alternative energy research
Purdue University received a $3 million grant from the United States Office of Naval Research. Purdue will conduct several alternative energy-related research projects for the Navy, as well as develop a power and energy course beginning in spring 2016. It will also launch Purdue’s NEPTUNE Power and Energy Research Center.
