Longtime-Linfield supporters donate largest gift in school’s history.
The W.M. Keck Foundation has committed a substantial gift to support Linfield College’s new science facility on the McMinnville Campus. The $10 million gift marks the largest single donation in Linfield’s history. Once built, the facility will be known as the W.M. Keck Science Center.
The renovation and build-out of current and new facilities will create a state-of-the-art science center impacting all Linfield science departments. “This new center will have a transformational impact on this college, and the W. M. Keck Foundation is pleased to be part of it. From the increased dedicated space for faculty-student collaborative research, to the enhanced interdisciplinary teaching and learning opportunities the project will provide, we know amazing work and learning will take place,” said Linfield Trustee Lucinda Day Fournier ’95, who is also Vice President and a Director of the W.M. Keck Foundation. Construction on the facility is expected to begin in mid-2021.
“This project is critical to Linfield’s distinctive science education, fostering new levels of student engagement and empowering cross-disciplinary, research-oriented STEM programs our graduates need to become career scientists, medical professionals, and responsible citizens and leaders,” said Dr. Miles K. Davis, President of Linfield College. “Support from the W.M. Keck Foundation ensures Linfield remains relevant, excellent, true to itself, and able to produce graduates capable of succeeding in every endeavor.”
The W.M. Keck Foundation has a history of significant gifts to Linfield. In 1998, the Foundation helped Linfield purchase the former Hewlett-Packard property and facilities that neighbored Linfield. With this, 17 acres of the property became known as the Keck Campus.
“This gift is an especially meaningful extension of the deep connections between the W.M. Keck Foundation and Linfield,” said Robert Day, Chair and Chief Executive Officer of the W.M. Keck Foundation. “We are thrilled to partner with Linfield again to make a dramatic improvement in science facilities.”
Linfield is a four-year independent college with campuses in McMinnville and Portland. Twenty-eight percent of Linfield students are first-generation college students, and more than one-third are U.S. students of color. The U.S. State Department has honored Linfield for being a top producer of Fulbright Scholars three years in a row.
The W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 in Los Angeles by William Myron Keck, founder of The Superior Oil Company. One of the nation’s largest philanthropic organizations, the W. M. Keck Foundation supports outstanding science, engineering and medical research, and undergraduate education. The Foundation also maintains a program within Southern California to support arts and culture, education, health and community service projects and programs.
