FGCU Athletics has received another significant lead gift as part of the Alico Arena expansion and enhancement project. Mike and Karen Hartley have made a generous gift of $1 million earmarked for the creation of the Hartley Academic Resource Center for the development of Eagle student-athletes. It’s the third seven-figure donation to Athletics’ $12-million capital campaign and allows for construction to commence.
“We are elated to be in a position to contribute toward FGCU’s expansion,” the Hartleys said. “FGCU’s academic and athletics achievements, as well as its quality student-athletes, are a huge asset for Southwest Florida. We have supported individual athletics scholarships for a few years, and we find the opportunity to share some of our successes with this historical project personally rewarding. The Hartley Academic Resource Center will offer expanded learning opportunities to all student-athletes at this first-class institution of higher learning, and we’re excited and proud to be able to support it.”
The Hartleys have been active members of the Eagles Scholarship Society — the highest annual giving designation for FGCU Athletics — and have been basketball season-ticket holders since 2014. This year, their scholarship recipient is women’s basketball player Sydnei McCaskill. The couple have been supporters and boosters of FGCU Athletics and very active volunteers for Night at the Nest, the department’s largest and most successful annual fundraising gala.
“We are extremely blessed to be the beneficiaries of Mike and Karen’s tremendous kindness,” said Director of Athletics Ken Kavanagh. “Through this magnanimous gift, we are afforded invaluable resources to greatly assist our capabilities to further support the academic pursuits of our current and future student-athletes, as we seek to provide much-needed enhanced facilities to place us on par with the awesome overall accomplishments that our teams have been collectively producing.”
The Hartley Academic Resource Center will be on the first floor of the Alico expansion on the building’s front side, closest to Swanson Stadium. It will include offices for the Student-Athlete Learning Center’s staff, work spaces for group projects, numerous computers lining the glass exterior, seven private tutoring areas and living, study and conference rooms.
“This generous gift will provide our student-athletes with more space, better resources and an improved learning environment,” added Kelly Jean Brock, Assistant AD and Director of the Student-Athlete Learning Center. “Our student-athletes have exceeded the overall FGCU student body GPA for 14-straight semesters, and these enhancements will only help them further surpass their peers and position themselves well for life after intercollegiate athletics.”
Last spring, FGCU student-athletes posted a 3.30 cumulative GPA. Six individuals were named their respective sport’s conference scholar-athlete of the year last year: Stephanie Haas (ASUN Women’s Basketball), Andres Alfonzo (ASUN Men’s Tennis), Elizabeth Means (ASUN Women’s Tennis), Mei Khuan Yong (ASUN Women’s Golf), Lani Cabrera (CCSA Women’s Swimming & Diving) and Austin Schultz (ASUN Men’s Golf).
The Hartleys’ donation puts FGCU Athletics past the Phase I goal of $8 million for Alico’s enhancements, which also includes an expanded sports medicine area, the addition of new men’s and women’s basketball suites and the re-configuring of office spaces. Phase I is scheduled to be completed in time for the start of the 2017-18 academic year.
For more information about donating to the athletics campaign, contact Assistant Athletic Director for Advancement Graham Diemer at 239-590-7117 or [email protected].