Marymount Manhattan College Meets Kresge Challenge and Secures $1.5 Million Grant

“We are very grateful for the widespread support we have received during this ambitious campaign,” said President Judson R. Shaver, Ph.D. “The Kresge Foundation challenge grant will help ensure Marymount Manhattan students receive a dynamic and rewarding education experience. We thank everyone for their investment and dedication to help us meet the terms of this challenge grant.” 

In January 2008, the College launched the public phase of This is the Day, the Campaign for Marymount Manhattan. Donors to this comprehensive campaign have enabled dramatic increases in need-based student financial aid, enhanced existing spaces to create a dynamic environment for learning and funded an expansion in the number of full-time faculty while encouraging unprecedented levels of faculty scholarship and research. 

The Kresge Foundation based in Troy, Michigan, awards its highly competitive grants exclusively on a challenge, or matching, basis to facilitate the completion of capital campaigns. The Kresge challenge grant aims to assist institutions like Marymount Manhattan College to broaden their traditional base of philanthropic support, encouraging wider community involvement to secure an institution’s vitality. 

“Earning the Kresge grant is a testament to our donors and their dedication to the College,” said Campaign Chair Judy Carson ’03. “The College has been transformed through gifts of all sizes from trustees, alumni, parents and other friends and all of these have contributed toward this success.” 

Significant milestones throughout the campaign in support of the three campaign objectives include:

• The Lowerre Family Terrace, the campaign’s first major facilities investment, was unveiled in September 2008 in recognition of a generous gift from alumnus Paul Lowerre ‘81. In fall 2009, the College opened The Commons, a 5,000-square-foot dining facility and student lounge located at the 71st Street Campus. In addition, construction and renovations were made to the Shanahan Library and The Great Hall.
  
  
• Today, with the demand for scholarship support at nearly historic levels, the College has been able to significantly increase its financial assistance to MMC through the funds raised as part of This is the Day. Since the beginning of the campaign, 65 new MMC students and 67 continuing students received financial assistance from campaign funds.
  
  
• In March 2009, the College named Kathleen LeBesco, Ph.D., Professor and Chair of Communication Arts, and Jason Rosenfeld, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Art History, as the first Distinguished Chairs at Marymount Manhattan College. In addition, the College has hired seven additional full-time faculty members.

While the College celebrates the successful achievement of the Kresge Foundation challenge grant, the This is the Day, the Campaign for Marymount Manhattan continues. To learn more about the campaign, please visit www.mmm.edu/campaign. 

Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, independent, liberal arts college. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual achievement and personal growth and by providing opportunities for career development.

Published: April 01, 2010