A faculty member and alumna of a struggling Iowa college is donating half a million dollars to keep the school open. Iowa Wesleyan. Biology professor Dolores Poulter Wilson says she graduated from Iowa Wesleyan with one dollar and 87 cents to her name, and that she only got her degree because of the school’s scholarships and donations. She went on to teach a the school for 56 years.

The school needs more than two million dollars to stay open and school leaders are meeting with local and federal officials, bankers and businesses trying to get more support. University leaders say they’re hopeful her example inspires others.