Culver Academies in Culver, Indiana, has announced a two-part gift from Frank Batten, founder of Virginia-based Landmark Communications, and his wife, Jane, that could total as much as $70 million.

The gift includes a $20 million endowment to establish the Batten Fellows program, which will help ensure competitive salaries and professional development opportunities for Culver's faculty. The second part is a pledge to match up to $50 million in gifts to build the school's endowment. The Batten Leadership Challenge will run until January 31, 2010.

If Culver earns the full match, the Battens will have committed more than $100 million to the school, which includes Culver Military Academy, Culver Girls Academy, and Culver Summer Schools & Camps. The Battens already have donated more than $34 million to Culver, including a $20.8 million gift in 2003. Frank Batten, who graduated in 1945 from Culver Military Academy, is an emeritus member of the Culver Educational Foundation board of trustees.

"The Batten Fellows Program may be the most generous gift for faculty salaries in the history of secondary school philanthropy," said John Buxton, Culver's head of schools. "The gift benefits those who make the real difference in students' lives: the faculty...This gift will allow us to recognize excellence in teaching and to promote its faculty in a more appropriate way."