Bill Gupton, Executive Director of the MSU-Northern Foundation, has announced a $2.5 million fund drive aimed at enhancing student life at MSUN though a major building campaign called "Brick by Brick, Student by Student and Dollar by Dollar".

The building Project has four major objectives:

$800,000 to Fund a “Wellness” center using the existing pool area on campus. “We are already half-way to our goal, thanks to a $400,000 gift from the Klabzuba family of Fort Worth, Texas”. Gupton said. To fully fund the gift requires a $400,000 matching amount which must be acquired over the next three years. “What this means is that essentially every dollar amount raised for this project is doubled. Anyone donation of one dollar is like a donation of two. Our goal with this project is to provide a healthy place to congregate for our students that will allow them to socialize while doing various activities, including cardiovascular exercise, that promote good health. This is especially important in our climate where outdoor exercise is very difficult for much of the year”.

$1,000,000 to improve the Student Union Building (SUB). In order to solve the number one issue at Northern, which is enrollment, we need to provide an atmosphere in our SUB that promotes socialization. To that end, our intention is to improve the food service area to give better choices of food and beverage, as well as a more inviting atmosphere in which to dine with friends. Such improvements will provide and atmosphere that invites students to stay on campus between classes, thereby building a stronger student life. It is a fact that the stronger the student life on campus, the more likely Northern can retain students as they move forward in their educational careers.

$900,000 to further improve our athletic facilities. Active athletics bring energy to campus and with that energy comes an increased enrollment and the retention of students. This project is intended to fund much needed improvements to our athletic facilities including improvement of the wrestling room, improvement of the gym bleachers and floor, improvement of the locker room area and improvement of the concession area and gym foyer.

$200,000 to purchase boilers to heat the Donaldson Hall sufficiently to prevent damage due to harsh winter temperatures. Our intent with the first three projects is to bolster the enrollment at Northern on a long-term basis, thereby creating a need to renovate and re-use Donaldson Hall, the symbol of our campus.

This capital funding campaign does not address all the issues facing Northern, but it makes a strong start and will announce to the region that all of us along the hi-line are fully aware of the importance of Northern to our local economies certainly, but will continue to give Northern the ability to serve the educational needs of students well into the future.

“We are extremely excited by the prospect of beginning construction on these projects. It will change the face of Northern and give us the ability to better serve those who seek our institution to further their education. These students are the future of North Central Montana! What an honor it is to be able to make such a difference in the lives of so many!” Gupton said.