PRESQUE ISLE – A gift of love has moved the University of Maine at Presque Isle closer to its $3.4 million goal for a new health and physical education complex. During the annual opening-of-school breakfast for faculty and staff Friday, it was announced that Dr. Caroline Gentile, a longtime professor of physical education at the university, had made a gift of $500,000 to the school for the project.

It is the largest gift the university’s Presque Isle campus has ever received. As of Friday, total pledges to the Centennial Campaign for the construction, which is not yet fully under way, exceeded $800,000.

“This is a part of my heart,” Gentile said Friday about the university. “This is a love of the place.

“It’s just wonderful to be able to make a contribution to this building so the kind of program that started will continue to serve,” Gentile said during a telephone interview.

For university officials, Gentile’s gift was a continuation of an effort that spans 55 years at the university.

“She has had a strong influence on people inside and outside the classroom,” President Nancy Hensel said during a telephone interview. “She has truly been a mentor to a large number of people.

“She’s the person, I think, that made the physical education program [at UMPI] what it is today,” she said.

Since she first went to the university, Gentile had a dream to develop a physical education program that would serve the county and the state. Through her leadership, the program today has achieved a reputation for excellence around New England.

For her efforts, Gentile has received several awards for accomplishments in the field of physical education, including the Highest Praise Award from the Maine Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance in 1999, and the Lifetime Commitment Award from the National Girls and Women in Sports Day group in 2001.

Gentile’s gift will go toward a 54,000-square-foot health and physical education complex for which ground will be broken next year.

The building will include a 25-meter-long pool, 200-meter track, multipurpose courts and a fully equipped fitness center. It also will provide classroom and laboratory space for programs in physical education, recreation services and athletic training.

Jane Caulfield, director of development, said Friday that Gentile’s gift would set an example for others.

“People have always seen her as a leader,” Caulfield said. “I think it will inspire others to give generously.”