Secret Admirer Gives $7M To MSU Geology Department
EAST LANSING (AP) - Michigan State University has received $7 million from a graduate to expand its geology department, and the gift will help "attract rising stars" to study and teach at the university, the school announced Tuesday.
The East Lansing university knows the donor, a Michigan State graduate who prefers to remain anonymous, spokesman Mike Steger said.
The money will pay for endowed professorships and endowed graduate fellowships, both of which "are critical building blocks for excellence in every academic area," said Michigan State President Lou Anna Simon said in a news release.
"Comprehending the forces that shape our world, specifically water and energy resources, requires research leaders who also can carry that knowledge into the classroom," Simon said. "This gift enables us to attract rising stars in geological sciences who can make an immediate impact on our research and education."
Steger said $3 million will help create three early career faculty positions. The search for people to fill those jobs is expected to start next year.
Another $3 million will complement funds from an earlier anonymous donor and will endow graduate fellowships, Steger said.
The remaining $1 million will complete funding for the Thomas Vogel Endowed Chair in Solid Earth, Steger said. It was established in 2006 in honor of the retirement of longtime geology professor Thomas Vogel.
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