Franklin College receives $1M gift for fitness center renovation
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Franklin College has received a $1 million commitment from Trustee Jim Napolitan and his wife, Sandy, the school announced Monday. The funding will be used to support the $9 million renovation of the college’s Elwood Fitness Center.
As a result of the gift, the renovated and restored lower level of the fitness center will be renamed the Drs. James and Sandra Napolitan Athletic Complex.
The facility, originally built in the early 1900s and expanded in the 1920s, is currently used for limited practice activities, the college said. The renovation project aims to restore the exterior of the building and transform the interior into a space for fitness, recreational and athletic activities.
The Napolitan Athletic Complex, the college said, will include office, locker room and support service areas for Franklin’s football, men’s and women’s soccer and women’s lacrosse teams.
“The leadership and generous support provided by Jim and Sandy over several decades have had a profound and lasting impact on our students and the institution,” Franklin College President Kerry Prather said in a news release. “This most recent gift is yet another example of the Napolitans leading with vision and purpose.”
Jim Napolitan, a commodities trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, has served on the Franklin College board of trustees since 1997. Sandy Napolitan is a 1960 graduate of Franklin and most recently served as a department supervisor at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
The couple has provided multiple philanthropic donations over the years to support various projects at Franklin, including the construction of the Napolitan Student Center and endowments to preserve the Napolitan Alumni House and Franklin College Science Center.
The college said a timeline for work to begin on the Elwood Fitness Center renovations is still to be determined.