Sutton Bank has made a $75,000 gift to Ashland University as part of the Compassion, Community, Commitment. Building a Healthy Tomorrow campaign for the university’s new Dwight Schar College of Nursing facility.

Ashland University President Dr. Frederick Finks received the gift on Friday from several members of Mansfield’s Sutton Bank.

“We are very grateful to Sutton Bank for its support of Ashland University’s new state-of-the-art Dwight Schar College of Nursing,” Finks said. “This represents the latest gift in the long-standing relationship between Sutton Bank and Ashland University.”

Finks said the Sutton Bank gift will be used toward construction costs of the new 46,000-square-foot academic and nursing facility located on the University’s Balgreen Campus at the corner of Marion Avenue and Trimble Road in Mansfield. The building opened for fall classes in late August.

Rhonda Martin, marketing officer for Mansfield’s Sutton Bank, said Sutton Bank made the gift to Ashland University because of what the Dwight Schar College of Nursing building means to the community of Mansfield.

“We are excited to support anything that is devoted to improving the wellness of those in the Mansfield area and we believe this new facility will do that in a very big way,” Martin said.

A dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony was held for the Dwight Schar College of Nursing building on Oct. 12. The new facility includes a number of clinical laboratories housed within the Simulation Center, including a Health Foundations lab, Family Health lab, Adult Health lab, Complex Health lab, ICU/CCU/NICU, Advanced Care lab, Community Health Home Care lab, and four patient examination labs. Other spaces in the building will include traditional classrooms, faculty/staff offices, student study and lounge areas, and student support spaces.

While fundraising for the new building surpassed the initial campaign goal of $12 million, revised plans and increased construction costs pushed the total cost of the building to nearly $15.5 million. “The University continues to raise money for the new facility and we are hopeful that very soon we will be able to announce that we have reached the new goal,” Finks said.

Ashland University, ranked in the top 200 colleges and universities in U.S. News and World Report’s National Universities category for 2013, is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong, applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.