St. Mary’s Medical Center has given Colorado Mesa University (CMU) the largest donation it has ever given, which doubles as the largest donation CMU has ever received.

The $3 million will be used to build the new health sciences building on campus, which will be called the St. Mary’s SCL Health Medical Education Center.

The project, which is already under construction and is estimated to cost $13 million total, will be used to educate physician’s assistants, physical trainers, and occupational therapists.

“It really builds on a long history that St. Mary’s and Mesa has together,” CMU President Tim Foster said during the livestream announcement of the donation. 

The University and St. Mary’s go back to at least the 1940s with their partnership.

“I think it speaks to our level of commitment not just to CMU, but to the community on the Western Slope,” SCL Health St. Mary’s President Bryan Johnson said during the livestream. 

Slated to be completed in November, the new health sciences building aims to grow the class sizes of the PA program. 

“Right now, our max that we can matriculate in our next cohort will be 28 students,” PA program head Dr. Amy Bronson said. “We actually hold there at 28 students for the next 5 years, and then we put in an application for being able to expand our program.”

Fundraising continues for the project. Alongside St. Mary’s, the University has received other donations, including one from Community Hospital Grand Junction for $1 million. Students are not expected to foot any of the bill from their student fees.

“Making an investment in CMU, and more importantly, making an investment in the students, is critical,” Johnson said. “And so it kind of made that decision for us easy.”