University west of Jackson nabs $5M gift to expand nursing program (MLive)
- triciacramer
- Mar 7
- 2 min read
Updated: Mar. 05, 2025, 4:08 p.m. | |Published: Mar. 05, 2025, 1:24 p.m.
SPRING ARBOR, MI - A $5 million donation has given a major boost to Spring Arbor University’s largest fundraising campaign in its history.
Donor Lois Mol made the multi-million-dollar commitment to fund a large-scale modernization project for the private Free Methodist university’s Whiteman Gibbs Science Center, school officials said in a news release.
The project aims to develop a state-of-the-art learning space for Spring Arbor’s nursing program, as well as expanded lab space.
“This transformational $5 million gift from Lois Mol will have a profound impact on the Whiteman Gibbs Science Center project and the next generation of nursing and science students we prepare,” President Brent Ellis said.
The “Ignite” fundraising campaign aims to finance several projects, including science center expansion, growth of the university’s endowment and support of the university’s annual fund, school officials said.
With Mol’s donation, Ignite has raised about $62.6 million toward its $80 million goal as of March.
“It brings me great joy to see nursing students excel in the classroom while being the hands and feet of Christ,” Mol said. “Healthcare is a demanding field, and we need more nurses like those that Spring Arbor trains and prepares.”
The Mol family has long-standing connections to Spring Arbor University, school officials said. Two of Mol’s grandchildren graduated from Spring Arbor, while her great grandchild is a current student. The family also has members working on staff, and a son of Mol’s who serves on the board of trustees.
Previous donations from Mol led to the establishment of the Jacob & Lois Mol Nursing Scholarship and the Jacob & Lois Mol Nursing Simulation Labs in the past five years, officials said. Both the endowed scholarship and the nursing labs are named in honor of Mol and her late husband, Jacob.
Ignite is the largest fundraising campaign in the university’s more than 150-year history, officials said. So far, more than 6,000 donors have contributed.
The proposed modernization of the Whiteman Gibbs Science Center will also grow the university’s STEM programs, officials said.
More information can be found on the Ignite Campaign’s official website.
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