EDUCATION Kent State campaign raises $121.7M
The largest part of the campaign has been designated to academic programs.
KENT -- The Campaign for Kent State University -- the university's first major comprehensive campaign -- has exceed its goal of $100 million, raising more than $121.7 million at completion.
In all, nearly 81,000 alumni and friends made campaign gifts and pledges, said Carol A. Cartwright, KSU president.
Cartwright said the campaign has helped the university advance on many fronts, including $69 million for academic programs and faculty and $24 million in scholarship support, which more than doubles the amount awarded by the university to deserving students.
"We have raised expectations about the worth of the university and what we can achieve, given the right resources. We have also become more focused on what it takes to link our programs and research to the private sector, and we have built a corps of committed volunteers who understand Kent State's challenges and opportunities for the future," Cartwright said in a press release.
Preparing for centennial
The Campaign for Kent State University began in 1997 when a group of volunteers met to identify academic and fund-raising priorities in preparation for the university's 2010 centennial. The public phase of the university's largest and most comprehensive fund-raising effort kicked off in June 2001 with more than $75 million raised.
The largest part of the campaign has been designated to support Kent State's academic programs, including 14 endowed faculty chairs or professorships in anthropology, architecture, plant biology, business, education, fashion, journalism, Jewish studies and mathematics.
Construction and renovation of classroom and laboratory facilities also have played a major role in enhancing academic programs. Private support has made it possible to incorporate value-added features -- such as Internet connectivity, scientific equipment and multimedia capability -- into more than a dozen capital projects on Kent State's campuses.
Funding also provided for construction of the Kent State Tuscarawas Science and Advanced Technology Center, creation of the Kent State Stark Professional Education and Conference Center and renovation of the historic Mary Patterson Building at Kent State East Liverpool.