ASHLAND, Ohio – Ashland residents Bob and Jan Archer have matched two gifts to Ashland University totaling $575,000 as part of their challenge grant to fund deferred maintenance and improvements projects across the school’s campus.
In establishing the challenge grant last year, AU Trustee Bob Archer said he and his wife would match gifts to AU dollar for dollar up to $1 million.
The Archers have now matched a $500,000 gift from the Schar family which will be used to upgrade clinic and simulation equipment at the AU’s Schar College of Nursing, as well as the relocation and expansion of theHuman Gross Anatomy Lab that will move from Kettering Hall to Jacobs Hall.
Another $75,000 from the Archers is a match to a gift from the Fauber family that will be used to create the 1,200-square-foot Bernice Fauber Baker Active Learning Lab/Classroom inside the AU library. The classroom will have collaborative space that can also be subdivided, as well as high-tech features like team screens and whiteboards and multiple projection surfaces.
“Bob and Jan Archer continue to live out their commitment to education,” said AU President Dr. Carlos Campo. “During these difficult times, their philanthropy is more appreciated than ever.”
Because the gift from the Fauber family has funded the library project, the Archers’ match will likely go toward additional improvements to the building’s main floor and/or resource desk, according to AU Vice President of Operations and Planning Patrick Ewing. The same is true of the Schar family gift, which will fund the lab projects, leaving the Archer money for other priority deferred maintenance projects like roof replacements, sidewalks and boiler replacements.