ALBION, Mich. – A generous $250,000 donation has increased the total amount raised for the Nancy G. Held Equestrian Center to $1 million.

The gift from Jean and Sheldon Laughlin of Parma—added to the original $750,000 donated by Albion philanthropist Nancy Held—will help cover construction costs and the first year of operation of the equestrian center, which is slated to open in fall 2004. Jean Laughlin graduated from Albion College in 1950.



The Laughlin gift was made in honor of Randi Heathman, ’03, [pictured above, right, with Albion College President Peter Mitchell, Nancy Held, and Rebecca Mitchell during the announcement of Held's initial gift, at halftime of the Albion-Kalamazoo football game Oct. 25. (Dave Trumpie photo)] who was instrumental in bringing the equestrian center to Albion’s campus. The donation also will fund the Randi Cristine Heathman Arena at the facility. Heathman graduated from Albion College last year and now works in Jackson.

“This generous gift from the Laughlins is a sincere indication of support from our alumni, and also affirms the widespread support we have from our neighbors in Jackson County for the equestrian center,” said David Hawsey, vice president for enrollment and the College’s point person for the project. “The Laughlins’ kindness to the College over the years has been great, and I continue to admire their dedication and affection for Albion.”

“The Laughlin’s gift is a tribute to Randi Heathman,” Hawsey said. “When I first met Randi, I thought she was a senior—and that was three years ago. Randi’s maturity level and vision is beyond compare, and her sincerity is estimable. She strove for three years to have this facility built for the team and for our students, and her involvement has been at the professional level from the time she was a sophomore—and it continues today. Randi serves as a testimony to Albion’s preparation of students in the liberal arts tradition.”

The idea of an equestrian facility took shape two years ago, when English major Heathman and others founded the Albion College Equestrian Club. Heathman, a strong advocate of an equestrian program, lobbied hard for the facility. Her honors thesis is entitled “Enhancing Education through Equitation: A Promotional Plan for an Equestrian Facility at Albion College.”

“Randi’s honors thesis is a professional-level marketing plan,” Hawsey continued. “I personally think that’s what sealed Nancy Held’s interest in the project—that and Nancy’s own significant ties to the land behind Bellemont Manor.”

The lead donation of $750,000 to fund the equestrian center came from Held, professor emerita of education and the former director of the College’s teacher education program. Held has long had ties to the land where the equestrian center will be built—on 350 acres of land immediately south of the College’s Bellemont Manor, at the intersection of Hannah Street and Haven Road in Albion.

The Nancy G. Held Equestrian Center is designed to be the premier equestrian facility for a liberal arts college in the Midwest and the only such facility in Michigan.

For more information, contact Albion College Director of Media Relations Morris Arvoy at 517-740-7923.

-30-

Back to Campus News

.