WKU News & Events

January 23, 2002

J. Clifford Todd Gives
$850,000 To WKU

Bowling Green, Ky. - A Western Kentucky University alumnus is breaking new ground with his gift to support longevity and healthful living.

J. Clifford Todd, a 1950 graduate in agriculture and biology, has a lifelong commitment learning about healthy lifestyles. Therefore, Todd recently made a commitment of $850,000 to create the Center for Longevity and Healthful Living at WKU.

According to Karen Adams, dean of the WKU College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, this Center will emphasize physical fitness, overall wellness, nutrition, mental activity and interpersonal relations to allow people to effectively prepare for the aging process. This gift will complement Todd's earlier gift of $500,000, which was matched by the state, to create a $1 million professorship in Longevity and Healthful Living.

"I am very pleased with this additional gift from Cliff Todd as evidence of his firm commitment to support our programs in providing programming and support for an aging population," Dr. Adams said.

"I have long had an interest in longevity and better health, both in philosophy and in practice," Todd said. "It is my hope that this gift will show people how they can benefit from living right, eating better foods, and exercising. By supporting WKU in teaching and promoting a healthy lifestyle in students today, I am helping to train the teachers of tomorrow."

WKU President Gary A. Ransdell said: "We are pleased with Cliff's dedication to Western, to our faculty and to a healthy aging process. This is a boost to our health-related disciplines."

The gift will be made through a gift of property, and the proceeds will be housed in WKU's College Heights Foundation.

Alex Downing, president of the College Heights Foundation, said Todd's most recent gift further demonstrates his devotion to his alma mater and his benevolent spirit. "Through his generosity, Mr. Todd is creating opportunities for Western to become a leader in the study of longevity and healthful living," he said.

For more information, contact Tom Hiles, vice president for Institutional Advancement, at (270) 745-6208. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.