March
22, 2002
MHC
Expands Campaign Goal by $50 Million: New Goal Is $250 Million
by End of 2003
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Photo: Jim Gipe
During
a break from trustee meetings held over the weekend of March
9, Beverly Daniel Tatum, acting president of the College
(left), toured the construction site of the new science
center with Eleanor Graham Claus '55 (middle) and Harriet
Levine Weissman '58 (right), cochairs of The Campaign for
Mount Holyoke College.
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The College's board
of trustees has approved a $50-million increase to MHC's already
successful comprehensive fundraising campaign, voting on March
9 to expand the campaign goal to $250 million. The proposal was
put forward by the Campaign Steering Committee, which approved
the increase at a February meeting. The College announced in January
that The Campaign for Mount Holyoke College had surpassed its
initial $200-million goal two years ahead of the campaign's conclusion,
slated for the end of 2003. The public phase of the campaign began
in October 1998.
"This is a time
for celebration for Mount Holyoke, but it is also a time to build
on the remarkable momentum that the campaign has brought forth
in support of this superb institution," said Harriet Levine
Weissman '58, cochair of the campaign and board member. "Reaching
our initial goal two years ahead of schedule is a tribute to the
commitment of Mount Holyoke's alumnae and friends to the College.
Now, we must use that energy to bring further benefit to the institution."
The success of the
campaign to date has already enabled Mount Holyoke to move ahead
in a number of key areas, including endowment growth, new and
renovated facilities, and new program development. In fact, more
than $107 million has been raised in gifts and pledges for Mount
Holyoke's endowment; and more than $40 million has been raised
for new building and renovation, including the state-of-the-art
unified science center and renovated music and art facilities.
Important new programs have also been established, including the
Harriet L. and Paul M. Weissman Center for Leadership and the
Center for Environmental Literacy. In addition, the campaign has
spurred unprecedented support for the Annual Fund, which by year's
end will have raised $40 million in the campaign years. Campaign
goals were shaped by the wide-ranging Plan for Mount Holyoke 2003,
developed by the College community under the leadership of President
Joanne V. Creighton and approved by the board of trustees in May
1997.
Now, the campaign
is poised to expand on its success and will earmark funds raised
in the next two years to expand on the impact of dollars already
raised for key College priorities. Priorities for the campaign's
next phase include endowment support for faculty positions, faculty
and student research, and student financial aid; endowment, restricted
and unrestricted, to support initiatives in technology and internationalism;
and new equipment to support the new science center. In addition,
the Campus Master Plan now being developed will be part of the
College's vision for the future and will present numerous opportunities
for giving. Among possible proposals that may arise from that
process are modernization of residence halls and academic spaces,
expansion of technology throughout the campus, and improvement
of the environmental sustainability of the community.
In addition, the College
is now embarking on a new planning process toward a Plan for
Mount Holyoke 2010. It is expected that this new plan will
inform future fundraising goals. "During the course of the
campaign, we have seen support for Mount Holyoke rise to unprecedented
levels, with more than 22,000 alumnae, parents, and friends making
contributions to date," said Eleanor Graham Claus '55, chair
of the board and cochair of the campaign. "We have tapped
into a storehouse of goodwill that is continually reinforced by
the College's ongoing successes. Our challenge is to carry this
energy and momentum into the years to come—to the end of
the campaign and beyond it well into the new century. I have every
confidence that we will do this."
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