Wayne State University and Meijer Inc. of Grand Rapids, Michigan today announced that Meijer is contributing $250,000 toward a new building that will house the WSU College of Pharmacy & Allied Health Professions. The contribution to the College_s "Preparing For Tomorrow" Campaign will help fund construction of a six-floor, state-of-the-art education and research facility in Downtown Detroit.

"We are grateful to Meijer for this generous contribution and are pleased to welcome them as a partner in providing a vitally important new training facility for future pharmacists and other health care specialists," said WSU President Irvin D. Reid.

"Meijer's participation in the Preparing For Tomorrow Campaign at Wayne State is a fine example of good corporate citizenship through a commitment to education," Reid added. "This commitment benefits not only the students who will be trained in the new building but also the thousands of citizens who will be served by the graduates of the programs taught there."

"Wayne State University is an outstanding educational institution," said Pat Gavin, Meijer Vice President of Pharmacy. "Meijer has the opportunity to assist the University, advance the educational process and take an active role in developing students into world-class pharmacists."

The 270,000 square foot, six-floor educational and research complex will open for the Fall term in 2002. It will be located at John R Street and Mack Avenue, as the gateway to the City's academic medical center. The new facility will replace the overcrowded and outdated Shapero Hall, located on the Chrysler Freeway service drive, just north of East Lafayette Boulevard.

The project team includes Turner Construction Company of Detroit and Brinker Construction Company/Capital Construction Company of Detroit serving as construction managers. Neumann-Smith & Associates of Southfield, Michigan providing architectural and engineering services.

The "Preparing For Tomorrow" Campaign is raising $16.1 million toward the construction of the new facility. The State of Michigan has committed an additional $48 million toward the project. 1960 graduate Eugene Applebaum, founder of Arbor Drugs, Inc., donated $5 million toward the Campaign and is now serving as Campaign Chair.

Wayne State University's College of Pharmacy & Allied Health Professions offers 16-degree programs in healthcare fields. More than 900 students attend the College, which was founded as the Pharmacy College in 1924 and expanded to include other degree programs50 years later.

Meijer, Inc. is a family owned and operated grocery and general merchandise retailer operating 127 stores throughout Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio. Further information can be found by visiting Meijer Web site.