Butler Foundation Awards $186,632.16 for Projects

Biotechnology students will be learning how to operate a BIOTEK epoch microplate spectrophotometer and related software, while the Mass Communications students will get their hands on nine ultra-high-definition video cameras.  These are just some of the new projects happening at Butler due to a new grant program launched by the Butler Community College Foundation.

Last fall, Butler’s Foundation invited grant applications from the college’s faculty, staff and students for various worthy projects. Through the grant process, the Foundation received 18 applications totaling $414,981. The applications were reviewed and decided upon by the Butler Community College Foundation Board of Directors. The Foundation responded by awarding funds for 10 of the 18 projects submitted for a total of $186,632.16.

The successful applicants were recognized Tuesday evening during the regular monthly board meeting of the Butler Community College Trustees. Dalton Patterson and Forrest Rhodes of the Foundation Board of Directors congratulated each grant recipient and highlighted their project. The Foundation will disburse funds April 1 to the successful applicants.

“We are so excited about the ability to launch this grant program,” said Stacy Cofer, Vice President of Institutional Advancement. “The Foundation Board has worked hard to put this together and due to years of amazing support from our donors, the Foundation is now in a solid place to offer a grant program back to colleagues and students so that we can help bring to fruition those great ideas that perhaps don’t make the operational budget in a particular year.”

Projects awarded include the following:
•    $21,600 24 student microscopes for Anatomy and Physiology to learn microbiology
•    $10,693 BIOTEK epoch microplate spectrophotometer and software
•    $10,000 for a refurbished area to honor student and staff military veterans
•    $15,000 Early College Public Safety Academy program support for fall 2015 program launch
•    $12,000 Butler Showchoir Festival expenses
•    $12,459 Technology platform which runs movement analysis software for new Exercise Science track
•    $34,827 Soundboard and wireless microphone system for Butler theatre
•    $30,000 Upgrade mass communications program to high-definition production capability/video cameras
•    $10,000 Speaker fees and resources for Institutional Development Days
•    $30,053 PicoSpon 45 NMR spectrometer instrument to identify chemical compounds for the chemistry department

“This is a pivotal moment in Butler’s history and really unheard of for community colleges to be able to do this,” Dr. Kimberly Krull, Butler Community College president announced to those attending the meeting.

She added the new grant program demonstrates the impressive level of care and vision that Butler Foundation board members bring to their service to the college. “Were it not for their giving of time, talents and treasures, along with the generosity of so many others, and the hard work by our Foundation staff, this grant program would not exist,” Krull said.

The Butler Foundation recently ranked third on the 2014 Wichita Business Journal List for top charitable trusts and foundations. Butler’s endowment has grown to $10.3 million and during the 2014-2015 academic school year, the Foundation awarded $400,000 in student scholarships. The Foundation plans to facilitate the grant program twice a year.