Saint Vincent College Announces $100 Million Campaign For Campus Construction, Program Development, Endowment

LATROBE, Pa., Dec. 1, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Saint Vincent College publicly announced a $100 million comprehensive fundraising campaign.

"We are committed to making Saint Vincent College the region's leader in experiential learning through the integration of the humanities and sciences with cutting-edge technology," commented Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki, O.S.B., chancellor.

"Forward, Always Forward, the Campaign for Saint Vincent," inspired by the philosophy of its founder, Abbot Boniface Wimmer, will raise funds for building projects, program development, student support and endowment.

"For more than 170 years, Saint Vincent College has educated students in the Catholic, Benedictine tradition of the liberal arts and sciences," Nowicki continued, "a tradition that focuses on personal fulfillment and a meaningful life through professional achievement and service to the community."

Because of a committed, highly credentialed faculty, Saint Vincent College has earned a national reputation for the rigor of its programs and the success of its graduates. "Saint Vincent has been repeatedly recognized as one of the best colleges in the United States," Nowicki added.

"Our tradition emphasizes the search for truth through the liberal arts and sciences in a  spiritual context of ultimate meaning and moral values," Nowicki concluded. "The rapid technological changes of our digital age have had a profound impact on how we prepare our students for the ethical challenges and opportunities they will face in shaping a better world."

"Today, we announce the largest capital campaign in the history of Saint Vincent College – The 'Forward, Always Forward Campaign.' Our goal in the course of this campaign is to raise $100 million and to finish strong by May of 2020," said J. Christopher Donahue, president and CEO of Federated Investors Inc., chair of the College Board of Directors and co-chair of the campaign with his wife, Ann. "This is an ambitious goal. $100 million will help position Saint Vincent College with even stronger scholarship and financial aid resources, and with buildings and programs that continue to reflect the Benedictine tradition that differentiates our College and prepares our graduates to make a real, and positive, difference in a challenging world – through hard work, morality, skill and service."

Saint Vincent College president Br. Norman W. Hipps, O.S.B., Ph.D., said that four major construction projects totaling $40 million are in the plan, including the $5.7 million James F. Will Engineering and Biomedical Sciences Hall which has been completed and opened on Nov. 16. "Other projects include expansion of the library as a humanities and technology education center, technology updates for Alfred Hall classrooms and the Robert S. Carey Student Center," he said.

"Twenty million dollars is earmarked to strengthen current programs including the Students First Fund, the Fred Rogers Center, academic and support services and student life resources, athletics, recreation and wellness," Br. Norman added. "The college is seeking $40 million for its endowment to expand access and opportunity through scholarships; maintaining a strong faculty to enhance academic programs and scholarly activities."

The college has raised $67 million in gifts and pledges toward its $100 million goal prior to the public announcement of the campaign.

Saint Vincent is nationally recognized for the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media, Sis and Herman Dupré Science Pavilion, Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve, Alex G. McKenna School of Business, Economics and Government and the Kennametal Center for Operational Excellence. Every summer for the past 52 years, Saint Vincent has welcomed thousands of visitors to campus for the summer training camp of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

SOURCE Saint Vincent College