With help from friends and The Kresge Foundation, EMU’s College of Arts and Sciences is on track to meet a $1.25 million fundraising goal to help it acquire and maintain state-of-the-art science equipment for students and faculty.

EMU already has received $250,000 as part of the Kresge Foundation Science Initiative Challenge Grant program, money it used to buy new biology and chemistry department equipment. One such piece was a Lachet Discrete Analyzer, which measures nutrients in water samples and is more reliable and user-friendly than equipment it replaced. The analyzer is often used by students and faculty in experiments that require the measurement of excess nutrients, such as fertilizer, in lakes and rivers affected by runoff.

Kresge will award EMU another $250,000 if the University can raise a total of $1 million by Sept. 1. The EMU Foundation is spearheading the fundraising efforts, and already more than $125,000 has been raised toward that goal. Kresge selected EMU in March 2006 to participate in the program.

EMU’s fundraising goal, coupled with the second and final $250,000 check from Kresge, will create a $1.25 million endowment for future equipment purchases and maintenance of already purchased equipment.

A Science Initiative leadership gift came from American Electric Power (AEP), one of the largest electric utilities in the United States. The $250,000 gift was made possible by former EMU Regent Michael G. Morris (’69, ’73), AEP’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, and EMU Foundation Trustee Dale Heydlauff (’78), vice president-New Generation, at AEP.

Gifts can be made in honor or memory of a loved one, friend or colleague, or to commemorate a special occasion. Gifts of $10,000 or more can be used to create a named endowment in support of the Kresge Science Initiative, which entitle the donor to the added benefits of receiving annual reports on the financial and programmatic progress of their endowed fund.

The Kresge Foundation, based in Troy, Mich., is a $3.3 billion national foundation focused on building stronger nonprofit organizations in three ways: catalyzing their growth, helping them connect with stakeholders, and challenging them with grants that leverage greater support.