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Dickinson Forward: 2024-25 Midyear Impact Report

From academic enhancements to HUB renovations and new resources to help students thrive, your gifts are making a powerful impact at Dickinson.

As we reach the midpoint of the 2024-25 fiscal year (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025), let’s take a look at all the ways, we are moving Dickinson forward together:

Three students walking through the fall trees


Academics

Building on last fiscal year, which saw a record $13 million in donor support for academic enhancements, Dickinson has continued to partner with alumni and parents to launch innovative academic programming.

New initiatives include:


The Burgess Institute

Established through a gift from Mark ’81 and Lisa Burgess, the Burgess Institute for the Global Economy helps prepare students with any major for success in leadership and in business. Initiatives include an executive-in-residence program; new and redesigned courses; Center for Career Development staff positions with business and finance focus; site visits and enhanced career-exploration trips; active learning opportunities; seminars and workshops; and networking opportunities through Dickinson’s recently formed Finance & Business Network.

Middle East Programmatic Enhancement Fund

Established by anonymous donors, this fund supports interdisciplinary study and teaching related to the critical Middle East region that is available to students and faculty in every department. It includes support for the development of new courses, field research, student-faculty research opportunities, themed lectures and more.

Philosophy Fund

Established by anonymous donors, this fund will support events that benefit Dickinson’s philosophy professors and any students interested in furthering their engagement with philosophy topics.

Griffith Fund for Humanistic Teaching and Inquiry

Established through the bequest of Janda Kirk Griffith Panitz, the daughter of Dickinson graduates, this fund supports humanities education at Dickinson across a range of pedagogical and research needs, including grants that help faculty take students to field sites, performances and museums, as well as funding for students to attend conferences to showcase their work.

Robert H. Stewart Class of 1927 Fund

Diane Stewart Fearen ’52 established the Robert H. Stewart Class of 1927 Fund in memory of her father. The endowment proceeds will provide support for the art & art history department.

Dance Professional-in-Residence Fund

Gina Palmisano P’27 established this fund to provide Dickinson dance students with the opportunity to learn about diverse forms in this rapidly evolving discipline. It supports regular campus visits by dance professionals in the Northeast region. This initiative will begin this spring and continue for five years.

William G. '71 and Elke F. Durden Faculty Seminar Fund

This fund provides continuing support for the faculty seminar program, which spurs interdisciplinary exchange and scholarship at Dickinson. Organized by the Clarke Forum, the seminar brings together scholars from across campus to discuss compelling issues and generate new ideas and methods that faculty members can then take back to their research, their classrooms and the community at large.


Additionally, new bequest intentions for endowed chairs and named professorships will help further teaching and learning in the study of civil rights, civil liberties and civil disobedience; in American studies; and in the liberal arts.

There is also a new fund to support the teaching and practice of engaged discourse, which may be used for faculty study groups, faculty professional development, the development and revision of courses, related experiential learning for students and student peer mentorship.

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“With these generous gifts and commitments, we are able to expand our capacity for experiential, hands-on learning, develop even more interdisciplinary programs and continue to change to meet the needs and interests of contemporary students.”

Renée Ann Cramer P’28, provost and dean of the college


Student Experience

Dickinson Four-ward

Relaunched this fall, Dickinson Four is a student life, enrollment management and advising initiative aimed at helping students maximize opportunities and confidently articulate the value of their individualized educational experiences across each of their four years at Dickinson. By providing students with a road map for engagement each year, along with on-campus advisors and an alumni mentor, Dickinson Four fosters opportunities for every student to make the most of their Dickinson experience as they explore their identities, goals and plans beyond graduation.

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“The Dickinson Four is a framework for helping students to both connect and explore throughout their years at Dickinson and beyond. It’s all about providing opportunities to build community and encouragement for exploration of their interests and taking advantage of opportunities.”

Angela Fernandez Barone ’90, P’22. P’23, P’26, executive director for student engagement, retention and persistence


Enhancing the HUB

Exciting progress is underway in the Holland Union Building (HUB) renovation! Phase one highlights, completed this fall, include upgrades to the dining hall and a revamped College Street entrance. As we move into 2025, work will focus on new restrooms, a conference room, refacing Britton Plaza, creating a new Americans With Disabilities Act-accessible living area and reimagined social spaces. Key steps include the removal of the historic mailboxes, improved stairways and upgrades to Mathers Theatre. Check out the HUB Renovation Project homepage for updates and photos as we transform the HUB into a dynamic and inclusive student space!


Center for Career Development Enhancement

Thanks to the generous support of donors who helped to launch the Career Excellence Innovation Fund, Dickinson unveiled a new Career Communities model this fall to enhance career services. Through this model, students can join multiple Career Communities led by industry-specific advisors, allowing them to explore various sectors and acquire specialized skills demanded by employers.

The nine Career Communities are:

Business Icon, graph on laptop
Business
Data Icon, gear and a graph
Data, Tech &
Engineering
Sustainability Icon, globe and leaves
Environment, Natural Resources & Sustainability
Law and Policy Icon, courthouse with columns
Policy, Law
& Government
Health Icon, crossed bandages
Health, Wellness
& Human Services
Arts and Media Icon, megaphone
Arts, Media & Communications
Nonprofit Icon, cycle of people
Non-Profit, Education
& Social Impact
Life Sciences Icon, DNA helix
Life Science &
Scientific Research
Career Exploration Icon, brain
Career
Exploration

Each community is designed to provide targeted guidance, from resume building to interview techniques, and connect students with relevant internships and entry-level opportunities. By combining liberal-arts education with industry-specific preparation, this new model will give Dickinsonians a competitive edge in the evolving job market.

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“We hope that our gift will help provide students opportunities to use their Dickinson education to find work and careers which they find meaningful and rewarding. We believe deeply in the value of a Dickinson liberal-arts education.  We also believe in an integrated approach that links the Dickinson experience to a student’s career development.”

Don Nagle ’76 and Cindy Stites ’77, two alumni donors to the Career Excellence Innovation Fund


Dickinson Fund Impact


3,066
Total Donors
$
4.6 million
62% of our $7.3 million goal

This fiscal year, gifts of all sizes from Dickinsonians around the world have added up to make a huge impact. More than 600 donors came together on Giving Tuesday to give more than $315,000 toward scholarships, academic programming, leadership-building student-life experiences and much more. This fall, hundreds of donors joined in All Devils Rise, providing more than $100,000 in gifts to support the McAndrews Fund for Athletics.

These gifts helped to spur success such as the Dickinson men’s soccer team reaching the NCAA quarterfinals and the Red Devils football team earning its first bowl game appearance. In addition, McAndrews Fund donors banded together to fund the new Biddle Field video scoreboard, which will be unveiled just in time for the spring sports season.


Dickinson men's soccer players link arms
Dickinson soccer action shot

We truly wouldn’t be here without the combined and collective generosity of our Dickinson Fund donors. Because gifts to the Dickinson Fund are immediately spendable, they enable Dickinson to flexibly respond to the college’s most urgent needs. This most prominently includes scholarships and financial aid, but also includes enhancement to nearly every aspect of the full Dickinson experience.

Volunteer and Donor Highlights

“For our 50th reunion, Stew Glenn, my long-time partner in organizing our reunions, and I proposed that our class establish an endowed scholarship. Our classmates responded with gusto. Paying it forward and starting early has a significant effect when compounded over the years.”

Ben Compaine ’67, a longtime Dickinson volunteer who helped lead his class to establish the Class of 1967 Endowed Scholarship Fund

“I encourage people to think about giving whatever they can. Because while big gifts are nice, the little gifts also really add up.”

Amy Barefoot ’89, who teamed with her classmates Gretchen Brigden ’89 and Ashley Brookes Richardson ’89 to inspire 500 donors to make scholarships gifts through their $60,000 challenge gift


Scholarship Campaign Update

Thanks in large part to the success of Sam Rose’s $10 million Change a Life Challenge, as well recent new scholarship funds such as the Sheehy Scholarship for students in the D.C. region, the Campaign for Scholarships has reached $72.5 million toward its $75 million goal. That puts us on pace to complete this historic campaign this spring—ahead of schedule—ensuring that we continue to meet the full demonstrated financial need of every admitted student.

NUMBER OF STUDENTS CURRENTLY SUPPORTED BY GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS:
1,800+
NEW SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS CREATED:
100+

96 percent meter

$72.5 MILLION, 96% toward funding our commitment to A SCHOLARSHIP FOR EVERY STUDENT WHO NEEDS ONE

TOTAL SCHOLARSHIP DONORS: 5,105

(since the launch of the campaign)

The Campaign for Scholarships

The Campaign for Scholarships

Read more about this life-changing campaign


Alumni Engagement

Dickinson continued to enhance our efforts to connect with graduates, and so far this fiscal year, our alumni engagement rate has reached 34.9%. New initiatives like the Burgess Institute, as well as new networks like the Latinx Alumni Network, the LGBTQ+ Network and the Business & Finance Network, provided new pathways for Dickinsonians to get involved with their alma mater in ways that are most important to them. The opening of the John M. Paz ’78 Alumni & Family Center also provides our alumni community with a permanent home on campus.


Alumni Sam Rose visits the Paz Center
Aerial evening john m paz alumni family center 20231130 002 jo 700x467 dsonmagwin24

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“[The Paz Center] is a perfect place to stay, with a wonderful staff, beautiful accommodations and a great workspace. Everything you need is in one location, and it feels like home.”

Tom Hare ’78


Young Alumni Challenge

The Young Alumni Challenge is also bringing together Dickinsonians from across generations to harness the collective power of alumni giving. Karen Dougherty Buchholz ’88 has pledged $50,000 to scholarships if 1,000 graduates from the classes of 2014 through 2024 make gifts to any designation between now and the Day of Giving (April 1, 2025). Young alumni are already stepping up, and we’re grateful for the more than 300 young alumni who have already joined.

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“I’m so excited to support our Dickinson students while also encouraging and helping our youngest alumni feel an even greater impact from their gift!”

Karen Dougherty Buchholz ’88


Thank you to all of the donors who have made a gift to Dickinson so far this year. Gifts of every size have had a big impact, because the collective power of your annual giving is what makes all of the achievements, enhancements and innovations detailed in this report possible.

Fall foliage surrounding the Dickinson archway

Save the Date: Day of Giving

Tuesday, April 1st

This is going to be Dickinson’s biggest Day of Giving yet—no fooling! Join us on Tuesday, April 1, as we partner with thousands of alumni, parents and friends of the college to move Dickinson forward.

The Sam Rose ’58 Change a Life Challenge is within reach, and we’re hoping you can help us get there! This year, we’re aiming for 3,500 gifts in a single day.

Mark your calendar today so you don’t miss out on your chance to be part of this historic effort, which will include numerous challenges to allow you to double or even triple the impact of your gift.

To help you make the most of your gift, the Day of Giving will feature a host of donor-supported challenges, including:

Access and Disability Services Fund Challenge

About 20% of students at Dickinson had an individualized education plan (IEP) or 504 Plan in high school. This challenge seeks to provide the Access and Disability Services office with the resources to support all types of learners and provide solutions to minimize disability-based access barriers for students.

Women’s & Gender Resource Center Challenge

An anonymous parent has provided a challenge to support the Women’s & Gender Resource Center, which builds gender education and equality into the life of the institution by providing resources and educational opportunities and encouraging conversation and dialogue across campus.

Dickinson Fund Challenge

If 500 gifts to the Dickinson Fund are made on the Day of Giving, Charlie ’65 and Trudy Craig will generously donate $50,000 to the Dickinson Fund in support of the full Dickinson experience.

Young Alumni Challenge

If 1,000 young alumni gifts to any purpose from the classes of 2014-24 are made on or before April 1, 2025, Karen will generously donate $50,000 to scholarships.

Class of 1967 Scholarship Challenge

Gifts up to $20,000 to the class of 1967 Scholarship Challenge will be matched by a group of classmates.


More challenges are coming in. To learn more and find out about the latest challenges, visit www.dickinson.edu/dayofgiving.