About the Campaign
Strategic Priorities
Guided by goals resulting from years of strategic planning, the strategic priorities will renovate and expand the Whiteman Gibbs Science Center, strengthen the endowment, and provide support for students today and in the future through the Arbor Fund.
Priority 1: Renovate and Expand the Whiteman Gibbs Science Center
Objective: Transform the Whiteman Gibbs Science Center into an innovative and collaborative state-of-the-art learning complex for STEM classes.
Walking the halls of the Whiteman Gibbs Science Center, you are immersed in the sights, sounds, and smells of science experiments, research projects, computer labs, and math classes.
Every lab, classroom, and lecture hall tells a story of countless assignments, lectures, discussions, experiments, and students who have learned essential computer, math, and science skills over the last half-century.
Experience the Transformation
Students at Spring Arbor University learn to balance the promise and ethics of scientific discovery, always evaluating innovation through a Christ-centered perspective.
Professors at SAU eagerly accept the challenge to better equip students with the knowledge and technical resources they need to tackle global challenges beyond what we can imagine.
Ignite Innovation
Essential for the growth of our STEM programs, an expanded science complex brings together scientific minds from different disciplines to collaborate on global challenges, test theories, and explore uncharted territory.
Dedicated classroom, lab, and office space for STEM-focused faculty and students in a single building provides our scientific community with the necessary environment to equip the next generation of scientists, engineers, and healthcare professionals.
Crossing Disciplines, Combining Passions
The renovation and expansion of the Whiteman Gibbs Science Center will transform the campus, bring new excitement to our community, assist with recruiting prospective students, and ensure our graduates continue to achieve excellence and distinction.
Renovation & Expansion
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Fuels enrollment growth
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Attracts and retains exceptional faculty
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Educates students using current market equipment and technology
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Provides dedicated research space
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Achieves new levels of academic excellence
Renovation Highlights
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Nearly doubles classroom and lab space
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Relocates engineering and nursing classrooms and labs into the expanded science complex
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Increases collaboration between disciplines
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Allows room for continued growth of STEM programs
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Improves space for special events
Expansion Highlights
Endowment Goals
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Current Endowment: $26.7 million
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Ignite Campaign Goal: $25 million
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Financially Independent Goal: $300 million
Through endowment growth and sound fiscal management, Spring Arbor University seeks to minimize the financial challenges students and their families will experience due to reduced state and federal funding. Our students depend on a strong financial assistance package to cover the cost of their education; with your help, dependence on government assistance can be alleviated.
An Eternal Impact
Future endowment growth often happens through planned giving. Alumni and friends of the university can elect to bequeath a specific dollar amount or percentage from their estate to an area of campus that means the most to them. Planned gifts to any area of the university’s endowment provide financial resources indefinitely, allowing you to have an impact on countless students.
Learn more about planned giving at Spring Arbor University: Planned Giving
Priority 2: Strengthen Endowment
Expanding access to education is fundamental at Spring Arbor University. We believe that every person, regardless of age, ethnicity, financial status, gender, physical abilities, race, and religion, should have the opportunity to attend a Christ-centered college or university. As the political climate continues to evolve and student access to state and federal financial assistance is uncertain, it is paramount that we prepare for the future. A healthy endowment ensures that future generations will have the opportunity to learn at a university that is committed to Jesus Christ.
Every gift to our endowment sustains the future of this transformational institution. The Ignite campaign goal is the next step towards reaching our ultimate goal of financial independence, ensuring that students can choose to attend SAU without relying on funding from state and federal government loans and grants. A strong endowment increases the financial foundation of the university and ensures that SAU can withstand economic challenges that will arise. Your endowed gift is an investment in the future of Christian higher education and Spring Arbor University.
Priority 3: Develop and Equip Leaders Through Christ-Centered Education and Experiences
The Campaign for Spring Arbor University is guided by a faithful group of alumni and friends of the university. With eternal gratitude, we thank them for their willingness to serve the university and bless our students by guiding and advancing the campaign in a multitude of ways.
Steering Committee Co-Chairs
• Robert Gould ’76 & Sherry Roe-Gould ’79
• Ronald & Marvel Jones
Steering Committee
• Rick Lofgren ’87
• Betty Overton
• Cassandra Riske ’12
• Gregory ’78 & Eleanor ’80 Schupra
• Harold Voorhees
• Ric Walton
Prayer Committee Chair
• Dan Boss ’77
Board of Trustees
• Gregory Bontrager ’83, Chairman
• Robert Gould ’76, Vice Chairman
• Debra (McKenna) Blews, Secretary-Treasurer
• Paul Buchholz ’97
• Kenneth Johnson
• Ronald Jones
• David Kendall ’76
• Edward Lamoreaux ’72
• Jennifer Mainka ’02
• Babbie Mason ’78
• Daryl Miller
• James Mol
• Abdu Murray
• Betty Overton
• David Page ’99
• Lori (Ormston) Roberts ’80
• Dale Stephenson ’79
• Todd Tibbits ’91
• Richard Townley ’71
• Donald Walker ’78
Campaign Events
- Sat, Dec 14Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music CenterDec 14, 2024, 6:30 PM – 10:00 PMMax M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Music Center, 3711 Woodward Ave, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
- Fri, Dec 06The Arbor ChurchDec 06, 2024, 7:00 PM – 10:00 PMThe Arbor Church, 120 E Main St, Spring Arbor, MI 49283, USADec 06, 2024, 7:00 PM – 10:00 PMThe Arbor Church, 120 E Main St, Spring Arbor, MI 49283, USAIt’s a fun night filled with Christmas music, candle lighting, fireworks, and a community reception that includes horse and wagon rides, balloon artists, kids’ activities, roasted almonds, cookies, cocoa, and more!
- Thu, Dec 05DeVos Performance HallDec 05, 2024, 6:00 PM – 10:00 PMDeVos Performance Hall, 303 Monroe Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, USA