Alumni Association Home > Past Issues > 2007 > November-December 2007	Print View

Donors gave $251 million to the University in 2007, a record amount in gifts and pledges that represents a 39 percent increase from 2006. The $251 million includes cash gifts and pledges to all U of M campuses, colleges, and departments, as well as future commitments such as bequests and trusts. Other significant gifts in 2007 were $8.7 million, primarily in artwork, from the estate of artist Charles Biederman; $6 million from entrepreneur Gary Holmes to expand the Carlson School’s entrepreneurial program; $5 million from Beverly Grossman to advance Alzheimer’s disease research in the Medical School; and $4 million from an anonymous donor to establish a chair in engineering entrepreneurship in the Institute of Technology.

The University received a gift of $12.5 million from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, which includes $10 million to support the construction of TCF Bank Stadium and $2.5 million toward a matching endowment fund for scholarships, with preference given to American Indian students. In recognition of the gift, the central plaza for the stadium will be named in honor of the tribe and will be designed to exhibit and celebrate the history, presence, and cultural contributions of American Indian tribes in Minnesota. The $10 million stadium gift is the largest single private gift ever to Gopher athletics.

University of Minnesota Alumni Association national president Tom LaSalle initiated discussions between the University and the tribe. In concluding the press conference announcing the gift, LaSalle praised the vision of Tribal Chairman Stanley Crooks and said, “The story that will be told on this plaza will be an educational opportunity for everyone, and the scholarship will benefit students for years to come.”

The Board of Regents approved a $238.9 million request for state bonding that focuses on improvements in the University’s core infrastructure. Combined with $69.4 million in University funds, the total capital bonding investment plan is $308.3 million. The cornerstone of the bonding request is $100 million to address safety and maintenance issues for the U’s 800-plus buildings and 28 million square feet of building space. It includes funding for a new science teaching and student services building and renovation of historic Folwell Hall, which is the writing and language arts building on campus.

The University will lead a $2.7 billion national children’s health study, the largest and most comprehensive study of child and human health ever conducted in the United States. The U is one of 22 study centers that will participate in the federally funded research, which will assess the effects of environmental and genetic factors on child health. Researchers will follow a representative sample of 100,000 children from before birth to age 21, seeking information to prevent and treat some of the nation’s most pressing health problems, including asthma, diabetes, autism, obesity, and heart disease.

The College of Education and Human Development formally opened its new Education Sciences Building during a special ceremony in October. The building, located on East River Road, once housed the Mineral Resources Research Center and had sat vacant since 1988. A $21.7 million renovation restored the exterior to its 1924 appearance, and interior spaces were remodeled to provide specialized laboratory and meeting space, as well as modern offices for the department of educational psychology, the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement, and the Center for Early Educational Development. —Cynthia Scott