Marquette, Michigan
Gift Designation
Type of Gift
Promoting Student Success with a Bequest
A generous bequest of approximately $875,000 from the estate of Waino Wahtera is funding the new Wahtera Center for Student Success at Michigan Tech.
Waino earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Michigan Tech in 1942. His degree contributed to a successful career at Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York, from which he retired in 1977 as senior air pollution control engineer. Waino passed away in June 2012 at the age of 93.
After discussions with Waino's nephew, Michigan Tech decided to use his undesignated bequest to coordinate an array of initiatives to help students complete their degrees. His gift will help the University to provide additional funding to the learning centers, develop workshops and hire peer coaches, initiate an academic recovery program for suspended upper-level students, increase cooperation with academic advisors, and remodel the Office of the Dean of Students to bring staff together.
The concept behind the Wahtera Center for Student Success arose over a year ago, said Dean of Students Bonnie Gorman. "We wanted to bring the academic student support services together, so we could create better programs for our students. Then we received the bequest from the Wahtera estate, and that has enabled us to move more quickly. We are very grateful to the Wahtera family for making this possible."
For more information on the wide range of options to support Michigan Tech, contact the Office of Gift Planning.