The Lawrence V. Johnson Library recently received a $30,000 endowment that will be used to grow and upkeep the library’s collection.
The gift is the first received by the Marietta campus library, according to university officials. The funds will be used to acquire, supplement and maintain books, databases, subscriptions and other materials for the Johnson Library.
“This gift will help to keep our collections up-to-date and enhance student learning,” said David Evans, dean of library services, in a press release. Evans oversees both libraries across the two campuses.
The endowment was donated by Jane and Ralph Johnson, the son of the library’s namesake. Johnson Library was named in 1998 for Lawrence “Larry” V. Johnson, the first director of The Technical Institute, a two-year technical college that would later become Southern Polytechnic state University — now KSU’s Marietta campus.
“When the library was named in honor of my dad, I thought it would be appropriate to also establish a program that would provide funding for library documents, magazines or other publications or activities that might not be covered by the normal budgets,” Ralph Johnson said in a press release. “I hope we can continue to increase the endowment to the level necessary to have a significant impact on students at the old SPSU campus.”
In 1999, Ralph Johnson and his wife, Jane, started an endowment fund to benefit the student competition teams at SPSU. That endowment, named to honor both of his parents who were devoted to the success of the institute at the time, has since grown to $443,000.