WATERVILLE, Maine, Oct. 23, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
-- Colby College this week launched the largest fundraising
campaign ever undertaken by a liberal arts college, as college
leaders announced they had already raised $383 million toward a $750-million goal.
The campaign, now entering its public phase after just one year
of a leadership phase, will position Colby to continue to redefine
the liberal arts, offering distinctive programs to connect students
to a rapidly changing world and prepare them to solve the most
vexing issues of our time.
Dubbed "Dare Northward" to reflect the bold and unprecedented
nature of the initiatives and priorities it will support, the
campaign will enable Colby to introduce transformational
initiatives, build on its already world-class academic programs,
improve access to a Colby education for deserving students from
around the globe, and provide outstanding new facilities that
support a multidisciplinary approach to learning and connect the
college to the community beyond its campus.
"Dare Northward references not just the current upward momentum
of the college but its remarkable history, starting with its
founders traveling up the Kennebec River to charter the school in
1813," said Chair of the Board of Trustees Eric S. Rosengren '79, P'12, noting that the
people of Waterville raised the
money to buy Colby the land on Mayflower Hill in 1930. "It was a
daring move. Just as the country fell into the Great Depression,
Colby's leaders were willing to take a significant risk to secure
the future of the college."
In launching the campaign at the historic downtown Waterville Opera House, college officials
announced two new major commitments to the campaign.
- A gift from Trustee Bill Alfond
'72 and Joan Alfond to name the
200-student residential and mixed-use complex at 150 Main Street
that will house a robust civic engagement and community partnership
program and is the cornerstone of efforts to revitalize
Waterville's historic center.
- A naming gift from Trustee Michael
Gordon '66 toward a new center for arts and innovation at
Colby that will provide beautiful performing arts venues—a concert
hall, theater, and dance studios—and that will serve as a creative
laboratory for students and faculty across disciplines.
More than 10,000 donors have contributed to the campaign to
date, and the college has received 32 contributions of $1 million or more.
Major gifts toward the campaign so far include a gift of more
than $100 million to establish the
Lunder Institute for American Art, which was launched this fall
with its first visiting artist, Theaster
Gates. The campaign commitment from Overseer Peter Lunder
'56, D.F.A. '98 and Life Trustee Paula
Crane Lunder, D.F.A. '98 included nearly 1,150 new artworks
by artists such as Maya Lin,
Joan Mitchell, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent Van Gogh and
established Colby as the only liberal arts college with both an
innovative art museum dedicated to cross-disciplinary study and a
global research center for American art.
Another transformative gift—$25 million for the new
DavisConnects program—set Colby on the path to make possible a
global experience, internship, and research opportunity to every
student. The program guarantees a global experience for every
student, regardless of their financial background. DavisConnects
turns the traditional career center model on its head and helps
Colby students connect their education to meaningful experiences
that complement their studies.
Colby has also raised more than $100
million toward an all-new 350,000-square-foot athletic
complex, now underway, and a 72-acre outdoor competition center
that opened this fall. The complex, slated to open in 2020, will be
among the best Division III facilities in the nation and include an
indoor competition center with a 200-meter track, the state's only
Olympic-sized pool, and a multi-level, 13,500-square-foot fitness
center, connected to new spaces for yoga and other fitness
classes.
"We launched the campaign a year ahead of schedule because of
the incredible support we have received from our alumni, parents,
and friends," said Colby President David A.
Greene. "It is remarkable and humbling to see the way our
community is investing in our students, faculty, and staff. A Colby
education has always been powerful, but it has never been more
relevant and needed. The initiatives supported through this
campaign will give our students every opportunity to lead in their
chosen field."
Launching Dare Northward in downtown Waterville aimed in part to symbolize the
growing relationship with the city that has helped to support it
over the centuries. In partnership with local philanthropic, civic,
and arts leaders, the college is helping to revitalize downtown
Waterville, and the results have
become tangible. Colby invested $5
million to renovate a historic bank building, and a
$25-million mixed-use development
will open in the fall of 2018 housing 200 Colby students, faculty,
and staff committed to civic engagement. Colby is also planning a
hotel and restaurant to serve the Waterville community and visitors. Colby's
total investment in Waterville is
expected to exceed $45 million, with
significant additional resources being committed by private
investors.
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SOURCE Colby College