West Foundation grant to benefit Lakeland students, campus
Lakeland University has received a $50,000 grant from a longtime supporter, the Ruth St. John and John Dunham West Foundation, to fund two projects that will directly benefit students and a third project that will help with main campus conservation.
A portion of the grant will cover a dozen new teaching microscopes for microbiology and upper-level biology laboratory courses. The new microscopes will provide students with equipment similar to what Lakeland graduates will use post-college.
The upgraded microscopes will also benefit Lakeland's Undergraduate Research Experience (LURE) participants. Most LURE participants stay within STEM fields and many move on to professional or graduate school after graduating from LU.
Lakeland will move the current, older binocular microscopes to introductory level courses and retire the outdated monocular microscopes currently being used at introductory level.
Grant funds will be used to purchase several dozen performance chairs for the Bradley Fine Arts Building.
The current seating available for the Bradley stage is in urgent need of replacement and expansion. The new chairs will be used by Lakeland students and staff, as well as the 1,200-1,500 middle school/high school students who attend music events Lakeland hosts annually.
Funds will also be used to purchase 20 trees to be planted on the main campus. Like communities throughout the country, the emerald ash borer has meant the loss of more than 40 trees on Lakeland’s campus.
Grant dollars will help restore this loss and increase trees across campus for future generations to enjoy. Tree species will be native to Wisconsin and will include maple, linden, locust and spruce.
“We are so thankful to the West Foundation for again supporting Lakeland and our mission,” said Lakeland President Beth Borgen. “Past gifts from the West Foundation have funded computer science projects and technology which is used daily in the classroom and lab. Many students have been enriched through access to this technology.”
