University of Puget Sound has announced it has received $250,000 from the Ben B. Cheney Foundation for its new Center for Health Sciences.

The Center for Health Sciences is the centerpiece for both Puget Sound’s 20-year master plan for campus development and the university’s academic strategic plan. The venue will combine in one facility the undergraduate research and teaching disciplines of exercise science and psychology with graduate clinical and research studies in occupational and physical therapy. The center also will provide resources for the university’s occupational and physical therapy clinics, which serve more than 300 patients annually with free health care services.

Both the Cheney Family and the Cheney Foundation have been long time friends of the university. The foundation’s executive director, Brad Cheney, is a Puget Sound alumnus and current member of the Board of Trustees. Piper Cheney, an active member of the Cheney Foundation board, is also a Puget Sound alumna.

The Ben B. Cheney Foundation was founded in 1955 with gifts from the estate of Ben B. Cheney and Marian Cheney Olrogg. In 1975 the foundation established offices in Tacoma and began making grants. The foundation began awarding scholarships to Puget Sound students in 1977, and since that time has helped nearly 300 students achieve their dream of a college education. By the end of 2004, the foundation had awarded 3,770 grants totaling just over $60.5 million to approximately 1,100 organizations.

More information about the Ben B. Cheney Foundation is available at http://www.benbcheneyfoundation.org .