GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. –– Development partners Michigan State University and Grand Action, a nonprofit organization of 250 West Michigan civic and community leaders, announced today that the Steelcase Foundation and Frey Foundation will contribute $1 million each to the MSU College of Human Medicine, funds that will support construction of the Secchia Center, the future home of the MSU College of Human Medicine in Grand Rapids.

Located in Grand Rapids, the Steelcase and Frey Foundations each have a long and generous history of supporting both regional initiatives and MSU.

“The headquartering of the MSU College of Human Medicine in Grand Rapids and the dynamic synergy between Michigan State and its partners will greatly enhance medical care and economic development in the region and strengthen the role of Grand Rapids as an international leader in health care and biomedical research,” said Steelcase Foundation Executive Director Susan Broman.“We are pleased to support this exciting project that will benefit our region.”

“We believe in the mission and the value of this project to the Grand Rapids community specifically and to medical education in general,” said Frey Foundation President Milt Rohwer. “The goals to create an efficient pipeline for bringing effective new therapies from bench to bedside and to become an economic growth engine by attracting top students and faculty to the region are attainable.”

Grand Action serves as a critically important partner with MSU in development activities for the Secchia Center. Since its founding, the organization has helped identify new facilities that would stimulate economic growth and galvanize public and private support for construction of these facilities.

Past projects include the Van Andel Arena and DeVos Place Convention Center. The Secchia Center will be built within the Michigan Street Development, a downtown Grand Rapids commercial medical community located across from Spectrum Health and the Van Andel Institute.

In 2008, MSU College of Human Medicine second-year students will begin studies in a leased facility in Grand Rapids. The college plans to enroll its inaugural class of 100 first-year students in Grand Rapids in 2010, when the new facility opens. The Secchia Center will include teaching laboratories, classrooms, offices and student areas. Once the program is at full capacity, enrollment in Grand Rapids will be approximately 350 students.

Including contributions from the Steelcase and Frey Foundations, alumnus Ambassador Peter F. and Joan Secchia and other gifts, MSU and Grand Action have raised a total of $24 million toward the $40 million in private support required to complete the project. The partners will continue efforts to raise the remaining $16 million for the development and construction costs associated with the facility.

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The Steelcase Foundation was established in 1951 to support charitable, artistic and life-enhancing programs. More than 50 years later, the foundation continues the legacy of giving that was established by its founders. While community needs have increased dramatically and contributions each year total millions of dollars, the foundation’s mission has remained constant.

 

The Steelcase Foundation enables a broad range of agencies and organizations to meet human needs, solve community problems, and enrich lives through the arts and education. Foundation grants are generally made to organizations, projects and programs in the areas of arts and culture, education, health, human services, environment, and community and economic development. Special consideration is given to grant requests involving people who are disadvantaged, disabled, young or elderly. 

 

The Steelcase Foundation provides grants to organizations in the following manufacturing communities: Grand Rapids, Michigan; City of Industry, Calif.; Markham, Ontario; and Athens, Ala. More than 100 grants were awarded during the last fiscal year. The foundation also provides matching gifts to educational, arts and culture, and environmental programs for Steelcase employees, retirees and directors.

 

The Frey Foundation, based in Grand Rapids, is one of Michigan’s largest family foundations. Grants are provided primarily to nonprofit organizations in Western Michigan for projects to enhance children’s development, protect natural resources, promote the arts, and expand philanthropic and civic action.

 

The Frey Foundation was established in 1974 and permanently endowed in 1988 from the estate of the late Edward J. and Frances T. Frey. Mr. Frey was longtime chief executive officer of Union Bank (now Chase) and founded Foremost Insurance Co. in Grand Rapids. It was the next generation, David G. Frey, Edward J. Frey Jr., John M. Frey and Mary Caroline (Twink) Frey, that developed the family foundation that operates today.

 

Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 16 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.