Fundraising campaign unveiled at Thiel

Staff report

GREENVILLE, PA.

Thiel College President Troy D. VanAken unveiled the public phase of the college’s most-ambitious fundraising campaign in its 149-year history.

The Thiel 2016 Campaign aims to raise $60 million by the end of 2016.

“Campaigns strengthen colleges. Successful campaigns bring focus and unity to a shared vision,” VanAken said. “This campaign provides momentum, moving the college forward and encouraging us to achieve dreams.”

Reaching the campaign goal will coincide with another historic milestone – the celebration of the college’s sesquicentennial anniversary. So far, the Thiel 2016 Campaign has raised a school record, $55 million since the quiet phase started July 1, 2009.

More than 170 individuals have made commitments of $10,000 or more and 44 organizations have provided more than $20 million in support. The quiet phase has included three of the largest gifts in school history and has launched the Dietrich Honors Institute, the Baughman Scholarships and many other academic initiatives. The quiet phase included the construction of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design-certified James Pedas Communication Center and the Rissell-Schreyer Dome, as well as new turf and lights at Alumni Stadium.

“We have been awed by our donors’ support during the quiet phase of the campaign and know the public phase will deliver similarly impressive results,” said Roberta Leonard, executive director of the capital campaign. “We are grateful for the support and thank all the donors for their generosity and investment in Thiel College.”

The priorities in the public phase include funding the Professor David Miller ’61 endowed chairman, four new showcase science labs, a track and field complex and continued support of the Thiel Fund.

“These initiatives will make us stretch and reach for more. We are building a stronger Thiel College that will serve students for the next 150 years,” VanAken said.

The four focus areas of the public phase will have a lasting impact at Thiel. Miller started teaching in 1963 and is the longest-serving professor in the college’s history.

The showcase labs will improve Thiel’s ability to recruit and graduate the strongest science students in its history.

A new track and field complex will bring Thiel’s final athletic team back on campus and give them a home field. The new complex will open up practice space and strengthen the college’s role as a community resource.

The Thiel Fund – the college’s largest revenue stream outside of tuition – is a vital lifeline for unexpected spending needs.