Alumni give 5.5M to Grove City College

The college will name its Student Union in honor of the Breens.
GROVE CITY, Pa. -- Grove City College alumni Ed and Lynn Breen, both members of the class of 1978, have donated 5.5 million to their alma mater.
The gift closes the college's Change & amp; Commitment Campaign at 68 million, 8 million above the original goal.
It's the largest individual contribution to the college that administrators could recall.
Grove City will name its Student Union in honor of the Breens.
Ed and Lynn Branstner Breen met at Grove City College, where Ed was a business/economics major, a wrestler and a brother in the Beta Sigma fraternity. Lynn, also an economics major, sang in the Chapel Choir and was a sister in the Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority.
The couple, now with three children and living in New Hope, Pa., have fond memories of Grove City and have come back for homecoming festivities. Ed Breen, a native of Philadelphia, has also visited campus numerous times for speaking engagements and has been a member of the Grove City College Board of Trustees since 2001.
"This is a wonderful close to a record-breaking campaign," said college President Richard G. Jewell, '67. "Not only does this gift have an immediate impact on our students, this type of generosity is transforming and it will inspire others to partner with us."
The Change & amp; Commitment Campaign was the college's first major public campaign in its 130-year history.
What campaign provided
During the drive, donor participation among the college's 23,000 alumni grew by more than 55 percent. In addition to the Student Union, which was officially dedicated in October 2004, the campaign funded a new 20 million academic building, a 4.5 million expansion of the J. Howard Pew Fine Arts Center, a planned multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion of the Carnegie Alumni Center and added 26 million to the endowment earmarked for scholarship aid.
Ed Breen is chairman and chief executive officer of Tyco International Ltd., a leader in electronics, fire and security, health care and engineered products and services. He stepped in as CEO of Tyco after the company's 2002 financial scandal and made bold business decisions quickly that resulted in stocks rising, net income increasing and employee morale soaring.
Breen had joined General Instrument in 1978, immediately after graduation from Grove City College. He joined Motorola in January 2000 as executive vice president of Motorola and president of Motorola's Broadband Communications Sector. Two years later, he was named Motorola president and COO.
The Breen Student Union is the central gathering place and communication center for Grove City College's almost 2,500 students. The multimillion-dollar center houses the campus bookstore, food court and various student life-related offices and gathering spaces for resident and commuting students. The facility also offers wireless computer access.