Olivet College received a $1.2 million grant from the Kresge Foundation, which will enable the college to construct the M. Gorton Riethmiller Art Building on campus.

The $3.5 million project includes a 17,000-square-foot Georgian revival-style building complete with an art gallery, fine art vault and art classrooms. The facility will be used primarily by the colleges visual arts program, but also other faculty, students, alumni, friends and the community.

Olivet has secured a $1.5 million lead gift from a private donor; of this, $500,000 will be restricted to an endowment for ongoing maintenance of the building, with the additional gift being earmarked for construction.

This tremendous gift from the Kresge Foundation will provide major support for the arts at Olivet College and in the entire community, said Olivet College President Don Tuski, Ph.D. This also fits in with our vision of Education for Individual and Social Responsibility and our mission of serving a wide range of students.

The Kresge Foundation is a national, private foundation that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations by creating access and opportunity in underserved communities, improving the health of low-income people, supporting artistic expression, assisting in the revitalization of Detroit and advancing methods for dealing with global climate change. In 2007, the foundation awarded 283 grants totaling $178.5 million.

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