Whitworth Receives $1.5 Million Grant from Murdock Trust for Health Science Initiative
The M.J Murdock Charitable Trust of Vancouver, Wash., has awarded Whitworth University a $1.5 million grant to support the university’s Health Science Initiative.
The grant will be used to help finance the new state-of-the-art Dana & David Dornsife Health Sciences building and for the equipment to be used by students enrolled in the new physical therapy and occupational therapy doctoral programs as well as those in the master of science athletic training program.
“For 30 years, the Murdock Charitable Trust has been Whitworth’s partner in the higher education landscape,” said Stacey Smith, vice president for institutional advancement. “It has supported a host of capital development, science and program initiatives; it has been a convener of people and ideas; and it has been encouraging of our mission and ministry. The convergence of faith, shared values and philanthropy have genuinely blessed our students, our faculty and the physical campus. For all of this we are immensely grateful.”
The 38,000 square-foot facility is named in honor of international philanthropists and humanitarians Dana and David Dornsife, who pledged $10 million to support Whitworth’s health science programs. It houses a new motion-analysis research lab, exercise physiology and anatomy labs, and classrooms.
“This grant enhances our ability to create clinical lab spaces where we can actually serve our community, while also providing our students with real-life, hands-on experience,” said Mike Ediger, professor of health sciences.
Whitworth will welcome the first classes of physical therapy and occupational therapy doctoral students this fall.
About M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust:
M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, created by the will of the late Melvin J. (Jack) Murdock, provides grants to organizations in five states of the Pacific Northwest—Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington—that seek to strengthen the region’s educational and cultural base in creative and sustainable ways.
About Whitworth University:
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university, which has an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students, offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Contacts:
Trisha Coder, media relations manager, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or tcoder@whitworth.edu.
