3M Gives U OF M $15 Million to Support Science and Technology

The University of Minnesota has received Campaign Minnesota gifts of $15 million from 3M. The gifts will be used primarily to attract top students in science and technology and to expand hands-on learning opportunities for students and faculty to evaluate new technologies as products or businesses.

The 3M gifts include $6.2 million to endow the 3M Science and Technology Fellowships for students in the university's Institute of Technology, Academic Health Center, College of Biological Sciences and Duluth campus. This gift will be matched by the university's 21st Century Graduate Fellowship Endowment and will support 48 graduate students every year.

Another $2.4 million will go to a new technology commercialization center at the Carlson School of Management. The center will link faculty and graduate students at the Carlson School with science and technology faculty and graduate students to provide opportunities for evaluating the business potential of new technologies. The 3M gift will assist in the center's startup. It will also provide funding for coursework development in entrepreneurial studies, create seven research assistantships for master of business administration students, and support the expansion of entrepreneurial course offerings to doctoral students in science and technology fields.

An additional $5.4 million in giving from 3M since the beginning of Campaign Minnesota has supported the Walter Library renovation, the Mechanical Engineering building addition, scholarships and other programs. The combined gifts from 3M bring the company's total giving to Campaign Minnesota to $15 million, making 3M one of the largest campaign donors.

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