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.

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

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

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

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

Fuels enrollment growth
Attracts and retains exceptional faculty
Educates students using current market equipment and technology
Provides dedicated research space
Achieves new levels of academic excellence

Renovation Highlights

Expansion Highlights

Nearly doubles classroom and lab space
Relocates engineering and nursing classrooms and labs into the expanded science complex
Increases collaboration between disciplines
Allows room for continued growth of STEM programs
Improves space for special events

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

Endowment Goals

Current Endowment: $26.7 million
Ignite Campaign Goal: $25 million
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