DePaul University has been awarded a $1 million challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation to support construction of the Monsignor Andrew J. McGowan Science Building on the university’s Lincoln Park Campus. The new environmentally friendly facility is the centerpiece of DePaul’s $20 million Campaign for Excellence in Science.

Known for its strict standards and commitment to building institutional capacity, the foundation approves less than 30 percent of the grant proposals it reviews annually. DePaul was the only Illinois institution among 34 organizations nationwide that received challenge grant awards totaling $43 million from Kresge during the first quarter of 2008. DePaul received a $750,000 grant toward its William G. McGowan Biological and Environmental Science Building in 1999.

According to Rip Rapson, president of the Kresge Foundation, DePaul presented a compelling strategy to use the grant to help leverage support from new donors and solicit higher levels of giving from past contributors. The foundation also was impressed with DePaul’s mission to provide opportunities to disadvantaged students and its commitment to environmental sustainability.

“We are extremely pleased that the Kresge Foundation has given DePaul a vote of confidence in recognizing our mission and our contribution to the community,” said the Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., president of DePaul. “The grant adds momentum and a sense of urgency to the Campaign for Excellence in Science. We invite our alumni and friends to help secure the future of science education in Illinois by supporting the campaign.”

DePaul has already raised 83 percent of the $20 million Campaign for Excellence in Science goal. In order to complete the $1 million Kresge challenge, DePaul must raise the balance in new private gifts, pledges and grants by Dec. 31, 2008.

Mary Finger, DePaul’s senior vice president for Advancement, said that the grant affirms and solidifies the significant progress made in philanthropy at DePaul over the last few years. “Kresge’s challenge grant offers us an opportunity to complete the Campaign for Excellence in Science in a timely manner,” she said. “New gifts and pledges from individuals, families, corporations, foundations, churches or organizations will help the university meet the challenge and move this important effort forward.”

DePaul’s science campaign will support plans to recruit and train science educators and professionals, continue to bolster research opportunities for undergraduate students and build alliances with area high schools and community colleges to increase overall enrollment and graduation rates in the sciences.

Construction of the McGowan Science Building, at 1110 W. Belden Ave., Chicago, is two weeks ahead of its November 2008 completion date. Scheduled to open for classes in January 2009, the 129,000 square-foot, four-story structure will house the chemistry and environmental science departments and a portion of the biology department.

With 23,401 students, DePaul University is the largest Catholic university in the United States and the largest private, not-for-profit university in the Midwest. DePaul’s mission emphasizes academic excellence, community service, access to education and respect for the individual.