Cliff Feldmann, president of the Sheboygan Falls-based Feldmann Engineering & Mfg. Co. Inc., resident of Florida and alumnus of Lakeland College, gave the gift of $840,000 to the natural sciences division of the school. Fourty-five years after graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Lakeland, he fondly remembers his time as a student and the guidance he received, especially from David Rath, retired chemistry professor and division chair. Rath helped Feldmann during a difficult time in his life by making sure he stayed on track to finish his education.

On lakeland.edu, Feldmann said, “I had a very positive experience (at Lakeland) while doing my undergraduate work and now I’m at a point in my career where I want to give back in the hopes of making a difference for this generation of faculty and students. I want to fund programs where students can access their professors with an opportunity to develop close, mentoring relationships.” According to lakeland.edu, Feldmann’s donation will go towards “significant expansion of the Lakeland Undergraduate Research Experience (LURE), fund cutting-edge equipment that will provide new student research opportunities and create significant new scholarships designed to attract top-tier, high-achieving students from throughout the Midwest.”