Campaign Needs

Academic Equipment: $1 Million

Research Equipment for the Sciences: $500,000

In the fall of 2000, the doors to the University’s state-of-the-art science building, Sts. Cosmas and Damian Science Hall, opened for the first time. The construction of that building marked the renewal of the University’s commitment to the sciences, as well as our strengthened desire to educate tomorrow’s top doctors, nurses, and researchers.

To continue honoring that commitment, however, the University must upgrade much of the equipment available for student use. Outdated microscopes and failing incubators present a daily challenge to our students and faculty. So does the absence of modern research equipment that has become standard at other universities. The purchase of that new equipment, including microscopes, incubators, and a Fourier Transform Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectrometer, will provide countless new research opportunities for our students. It will also significantly improve the quality of their hands-on training, allowing the work begun with the opening of Sts. Cosmas and Damian Science Hall to continue.

Communication Arts Equipment: $500,000

In today’s world, the media does more than communicate news and information: It shapes the way people understand that news and information. Accordingly, one of Franciscan’s top priorities for many years now has been preparing Christian men and women to become leaders in the communications field, helping them evangelize the culture through the written, spoken, and visual word. Our success is evident in the graduates of the Communication Arts Program. As producers and directors, designers and writers, they are breaking new ground every day in broadcast, print, and multi-media communications.

Communications technology, however, has moved into the age of high-definition television and digital radio, while Franciscan University’s communication arts equipment has not. Dated video hardware, software, and cameras, as well as aging radio facilities will soon make it difficult for the University to give its communication arts students the hands-on training they need on industry-standard equipment. In order to continue providing Franciscan University students with the training they need to succeed in the communications field, the University must make the transition to digital equipment within the next three years. Funds provided by this campaign will not only make that transition possible, but they will also allow the University to expand its multi-media capabilities, thereby expanding the breadth and depth of what the Communication Arts Program can offer to its students.