UofL receives $5 million gift for Envirome Institute

UofL receives $5 million gift for Envirome Institute
Dr. Bendapudi accepted the multi-million dollar gift from Christy Brown on Tuesday. (Source: WAVE 3 News)
By Annie Moore | June 19, 2018 at 5:30 PM EST - Updated August 13 at 10:40 PM
The Health and Harmony circle which demonstrates the Envirome Institutes' studies. (Source: UofL)
The Health and Harmony circle which demonstrates the Envirome Institutes' studies. (Source: UofL)

LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - New UofL President Neeli Bendapudi accepted the first major gift of her tenure Tuesday afternoon.

The $5 million gift from the Owsley Brown II Foundation will go to the schools' Envirome Institute, founded in May.

Bendapudi, former interim president Greg Postel and Mayor Greg Fischer were on hand for the presentation by Christina Lee Brown representing the foundation.

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"All of us at the University of Louisville are grateful to Christina Lee Brown for the trust she has put in us to tackle such a large and complex idea as how our broad environment impacts our lives," Bendapudi said. "Her generosity will enable our group of researchers, staff and students to explore new concepts associated with exploring the elements of a single person's overall environment and determine how that affects their lives. The impact this will have will be felt well beyond Louisville."

The Envirome Institute was founded with the mission of studying the human envirome, and "taking a holistic approach to researching how the human-environment interrelationship impacts peoples' lives".

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