RALEIGH, N.C. (Feb. 5, 2009) - The Kresge Foundation has awarded a $350,000 challenge grant for Peace College to support the renovation and expansion of the college's Lucy Cooper Finch Library.

 

The college has begun raising matching funds to secure the grant. Gifts contributed to the library project will be counted as part of Peace's $30 million "Promise of Peace" fundraising campaign that was publicly launched in October.

 

"We're very pleased that the prestigious Kresge Foundation has chosen to support one of the college's top fundraising priorities," said Peace College President Laura Bingham. "The new library promises to be a state-of-the-art academic hub of our campus, something that excites our students and the entire Peace community."

 

The $3.8 million project will add 2,200 square feet of space and completely renovate the building's interior. It's the first major renovation of the building since it was built in 1969.

 

Among the project's features is the creation on the main floor of a "learning commons" with pods of computer workstations. The new library will house an information technology help desk and all of the college's tutoring programs. The library will also feature the college coffee bar, Peace Perk. The project is expected to be completed in June.

 

Burley Mitchell Jr., former chief justice of the N.C. Supreme Court, and his wife, Peace College alumna Lou Willett Mitchell, are co-chairs of the "Promise of Peace" fundraising campaign. They said supporters of Peace have been enthusiastic about the library project.

 

"We have received support from trustees, alumnae and friends who have demonstrated interest in the library project, including one of our recent 50^th reunion classes who made a class gift," Burley Mitchell said. To date, $2.7 million has been raised for the project, with Martin Marietta making the first gift in 2007.

 

The library is named in honor of 1922 Peace graduate Lucy Cooper Finch, who along with her husband, George Finch, donated $100,000 toward the original construction of the library.

 

Lucy Cooper Finch's family has long ties to Peace. The relationship began with her mother, Emily Faucette Cooper, who graduated with the Class of 1890. Lucy Cooper Finch was an active alumna and served on the college's Board of Trustees from 1953-1971. Her daughter, Lucy Finch Gaddy, obtained degrees from Peace's high school and college programs, graduating in 1961.

 

Gaddy and her husband, Charlie Gaddy, served on several Peace governing boards. Lucy Finch Gaddy served on the college's Board of Visitors and on its Alumnae Association Board. Charlie Gaddy, who served as a trustee for 18 years and as a member of the college's Foundation Board for 15, led several capital campaigns for Peace in the 1980s.

 

In memory of the Gaddys, their sons, Fin Gaddy of Manteo and Will Gaddy of Asheville, pledged $500,000 in support of the library renovation project, extending the family's legacy to another generation.

 

"The Kresge Foundation's challenge provides us an opportunity for other alumnae and friends to become involved, who may be encouraged by the ability to double their gift through the challenge," Mitchell said.

 

Gifts made to the library project after Jan. 1 and before Dec. 31 will count toward the Kresge challenge.

 

The Kresge Foundation, based in Troy, Mich., is a national, private foundation that includes education among its six fields of work. In 2007, the foundation awarded 283 grants totaling $178.5 million. Peace received its first Kresge challenge grant of $500,000 in 2000 for construction of Flowe Academic Building.

 

Peace College is a four-year baccalaureate arts and sciences college that offers a challenging program of study that provides women strong intellectual and personal foundations upon which to build successful and meaningful professional and academic careers. Peace's educational program earned the college rankings in the top 10 percent in each of the five categories in the most recent National Survey of Student Engagement.

 

For more information about the educational opportunities available to women at Peace College, visit the Peace website - www.peace.edu.

 

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