Contact: Tanya Brown, 765-494-2079, tanyabrown@purdue.edu; France A. Córdova, 765-494-9708; Dennis Savaiano, 765-494-8213, savaiano@purdue.edu

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Oct. 29 /Standard Newswire/ -- A new $11.5 million Purdue University facility aimed at fostering research on families, aging and leadership will move one step closer to reality Monday (Oct. 29) with a ceremony to celebrate the success of fundraising efforts.

Photo: Bill and Sally Hanley, hi-resolution version available

Bill and Sally Hanley Hall will house the Human Development Institute, which will include programs and centers from the College of Consumer and Family Sciences and the Purdue Center for Aging and the Life Course. The institute, which will provide space for centers focused on key areas of family and the life course, is made possible in part by a $3 million gift from the Hanleys, who are Purdue alumni, and $1.5 million from the Lilly Endowment. Alumni Ben and Maxine Miller also provided funding toward the institute.

The 4 p.m. celebration for Hanley Hall will follow a 2:30 p.m. faculty lecture in the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship at the corner of State and Martin Jischke Drive, near Fowler House.

"Bill and Sally Hanley's dedication to the well-being of families and their commitment to their alma mater have made this facility a reality," said President France A. Córdova. "I am grateful to them for taking the lead on this project to benefit families."

"The Lilly Endowment has long been the bedrock for efforts to support Indiana students and families. It's hard to imagine Indiana without it."

Sally (Berner) Hanley, a 1961 home economics and child development graduate, and her husband, William Hanley, a 1960 industrial management graduate, live in Omaha, Neb., but have remained active at Purdue. They previously funded a professorship in gerontology.

"This building presented the perfect opportunity for us to extend our giving at Purdue," Bill Hanley said. "Sally and her twin sister, Sue Berner Eibel, had a playschool at the family home during their college summers. Sally taught first and second grades. She also believes firmly in spending time with and supporting older people. Sally has volunteered with Mobile Meals both as a coordinator and driver."

The institute, which will focus on improving the quality of life for families and individuals, is in line with the Hanleys' goals for their philanthropy.

"A high quality of life through all of life's stages is perhaps the greatest gift we could hope to contribute toward," Sally Hanley said.

As a Purdue student, Bill Hanley was a member of Phi Gamma Delta social fraternity, participated in NROTC, and was a student-athlete in golf and basketball. Sally Hanley was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

The Millers of Lafayette, Ind., also gave a leadership gift to the Purdue Child Care Program in the Department of Child Development and Family Studies, which has been renamed the Ben and Maxine Miller Child Learning Center.

Dennis Savaiano, dean of the College of Consumer and Family Sciences, said the gifts were a major step in the creation of the Human Development Institute.

"This facility will bring our dream of integrating learning, discovery and engagement focused on families and children to fruition," Savaiano said. "The types of projects that will be undertaken by the centers will have a wide-reaching impact, not just for the university, but also for the state and beyond."

As part of the day's events, Karen Fingerman, an associate professor of developmental and family studies and the Berner Hanley scholar, will present a lecture showcasing aging and life course research entitled "Friends or Friction? Relationships Between Adults and Their Parents." The talk begins at 2:30 p.m. in room 121 of the Burton Morgan Center.

The Human Development Institute will be housed in both Hanley Hall and the existing Fowler House. Details regarding the design and interior of Hanley Hall have yet to be announced.

The programs and centers in the Human Development Institute will focus on four areas:

• A new home for the Department of Child Development and Family Studies to support faculty, students, researchers and outreach programs aimed at improving the lives of families, children and the organizations that support them.

• The Center on Aging and the Life Course brings together more than 50 faculty and 30 graduate students from 17 departments representing almost every academic area at Purdue. The Center on Aging and the Life Course represents a new stage in the evolution of interdisciplinary research and education on aging.

• The Early Childhood Education Program in the Department of Child Development and Family Studies, including the Miller Child Learning Center and the CDFS Child Development Laboratory. The Miller Child Learning Center is part of Fowler House.

• The Center for Families conducts research and programming with a focus on improving the quality of life for families and strengthening the capacity of families to provide nurturing environments for their members. To accomplish this, the center works with Cooperative Extension educators, human service providers, employers and policy- makers.

Interdisciplinary research space will accommodate universitywide collaborations, such as those conducted by the Military Family Research Institute. Lilly Endowment has contributed $1.5 million to establish permanent space in Hanley Hall for the research institute, which works to improve the quality of life of military members and their families.

"My wife and I are proud to see both of our names associated with our alma mater," Bill Hanley said. "This new facility allows us to give back to some of the people and organizations that were instrumental in our development. Supporting a center that focuses on family also was a natural step for us. We have 11 grandchildren, three sons and three daughters-in-law."

The event is part of a two-week celebration surrounding Purdue's Oct. 27 Homecoming. The events focus on ways Purdue is improving education and the quality of life in Indiana.