$1M donated for athletics, virus testing
A $1 million donation to Dominican University of California in San Rafael will augment athletic programs and coronavirus screening.
The donation is earmarked for virus testing and other protections on campus, with specific boosts to the university’s athletic programs.
The university did not disclose the donor’s name.
“It’s not only powerful, but also humbling in this time of great turmoil, that we are getting help not only to survive, but also to continue on in a way that transforms lives,” said Mary Marcy, president of the university.
Marcy said the coronavirus crisis has had “a significant impact on our finances.” The losses
include the elimination of summer rentals on campus and the reduction of campus housing — from 472 students last year to 370 resident students for the fall term — to allow more social distancing.
“This gift will go a long way to help manage the impacts without hurting the quality of the education,” she said.
The gift will cover coronavirus testing for all the college’s approximately 1,735 students. Athletes will receive daily health screening before each practice. Regular temperature checks also will be available.
Amy Henkelman, the athletic director, said the Penguins program, which already includes 11 NCAA Division II varsity sports and a men’s lacrosse club team, will use some of the gift to add a women’s lacrosse club team for the 2022-23 season.
“We will use the next two years to build and recruit for women’s lacrosse,” she said.
In addition, the donation will fund an endowed scholarship — the Barbara Louise Goldstein Fund — and a discretionary fund for coronavirus responses in the athletics department. The money also will help pay for expenses for the men’s lacrosse club team and student-athlete emergency fund.
In addition, the athletics department will purchase a compliance management software program used by athletes and coaches to process paperwork required for participation in college sports.
“This will eliminate physical paperwork and cut down on on the need for manpower,” Henkelman said. “It will be a discretionary thing to help us get through COVID long-term.”
The gift will help pay to build an outside weights workout space for athletes at the Conlan Center, the university’s gym and recreation building.
The school is planning to restart classes on Aug. 24 using a hybrid model of remote instruction and in-person instruction with small numbers of students in each class.
The campus will open a week early for the resident students to move in and for athletes in fall sports to begin practices.
All the academic courses have been redesigned to accommodate either in-person or remote instruction — depending on what works best for each subject.
Henkelman said the athletics department will likely delay the start of practices for winter sports until the situation on campus has stabilized for the fall and workouts have resumed.
“It’s not going to be a typical season,” she said. “We’ll just have to ease back in.”
Dominican is exploring a pooled testing regimen that would allow for multiple students to be screened in one test, greatly reducing the cost of supplies, staffing and time required to perform tests.
“The gift is a tremendous endorsement of Dominican’s leadership as we maximize the opportunity for our students to participate in meaningful ways with their education and their community,” said Carolyn Klebanoff, chair of the university’s board of trustees.