By Brenna Angel
LEXINGTON, Ky. – A central Kentucky business is stepping up to support educational initiatives both close to home and as far away as Southeast Asia. Lexmark announced Tuesday plans to give $1.7 million to programs focusing on science, technology, engineering, and math.
One million of that will help the University of Kentucky renovate the old Northside Public Library in Lexington.
"For two years we have been sitting idly in that building. Because even though the location is great and it's perfect for a lot of the things we want to do in terms of science outreach, we just didn't have the total capital required to put it into use. So when this opportunity came of being able to get essentially a matching gift from Lexmark, we were just absolutely thrilled because this now allows the project to go forward immediately."
UK Provost Kumble Subbaswamy says the building will be used to train math and science teachers.
Fayette County Public Schools is getting $300,000 from Lexmark to purchase lab equipment for its middle schools. And the company is also giving to programs in Kansas, Colorado, and the Philippines.