Franklin College receives multimillion-dollar gift from trustee
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A trustee at Franklin College has gifted the school $4 million in general funding and an additional $500,000 to renovate a fitness center.
The college announced this week that Robert Brown, a longtime executive with Eli Lilly and Co., is making the estate gift along with his wife Ruth. A press release from the school did not specify where the main $4 million will be used, but the separate $500,000 gift will be used to renovate and restore the Elwood Fitness Center.
In a statement, Brown mentioned that he didn’t attend Franklin College, but his stepfather was a trustee and he supports the college’s mission.
“Our family has always placed great importance on giving back to the community,” Brown said.
“Although neither Ruth nor I attended Franklin, we both value the importance of a liberal arts education, and have loved becoming a part of the Franklin family. We hope these gifts will help the college continue to shape the lives of students for years to come.”
Brown has been a trustee at Franklin College since 2014. He was an executive with Lilly from 1985 until his retirement in 2018, last serving as chief marketing officer.
The school says the undesignated $4 million gift allows the school to use it on “priority areas of need” at the time the gift is funded. Meanwhile, the Elwood Fitness Center, first built in 1908, is in need of repair, and the Brown family gift will also go toward that restoration. The goal of the renovation is to preserve the historic exterior of the building while modernizing the interior.
The Elwood Fitness Center is named as it is due to a donation from the Elwood family earlier this year.