Kickin' it for Dickinson

College launches $150 million capital campaign

October 10, 2006

Volunteers representing every division of the college are recognized at the campus kickoff event held in the HUB social hall.

The last seven years at Dickinson have been extraordinary both in accomplishment and in the speed by which gains have been made, according to President William G. Durden '71. Cited for its leadership in global education, admissions, renewed fiscal health and endowment growth, the college has outperformed its peers by ever-wider margins.

But the college is ever on the move and that includes the recent on-campus kickoff for a transformative $150 million capital campaign that will provide funding to sustain Dickinson's extraordinary growth and success as an institution. This history-making campaign, which was introduced to alumni and friends in a separate event on Oct. 7 in Philadelphia's National Constitution Center, will provide for new endowed faculty chairs, new endowed scholarships and funding for the new science complex, the largest building project in the history of the college and town.

The campaign also is aiming for a 30 percent growth in the college's annual fund. "Our destiny to become, in Dr. Rush's words, 'First in America,' is now within our grasp," says Durden. "As Dickinsonians we own this legacy and this opportunity. This is our moment to be idealistic in the best sense of the word—to leave our college better than we found it. This campaign illustrates, concretely, our resolve to get it right, provide new financial strength in key places and alter permanently the way in which we care for our college."