For Release: IMMEDIATELY UPON RECEIPT

Contact: GREG CANNON, OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, (845) 575-3174

$150 MILLION AND COUNTING - MARIST MEETS GOAL OF FIRST COMPREHENSIVE CAMPAIGN WITH MONTHS REMAINING

Said Marist President Dennis J. Murray, "Marist is grateful to all of the alumni, parents, friends, businesses, private foundations, and government agencies who, through their generosity, have made an affirmative commitment to the institution. This unprecedented level of support demonstrates a collective belief in the special value of a Marist education."
 
The Campaign's success is due in large part to the strong leadership of Marist Trustees Tim Brier, chair of the Board of Trustees Campaign Committee, immediate past board Chair Rob Dyson, and current Chair Ellen Hancock, all of whom made key gifts, in addition to providing their time and expertise.
 
The $150 million raised to date has already been put to work helping support talented students with needed scholarships, providing first-rate classrooms and research labs like those in the new Hancock Center, recruiting and retaining exceptional faculty, and significantly upgrading the College's athletic facilities.
 
Marist today also launches a new Campaign Web site, which includes more information on these and other projects and programs supported by the Campaign and details additional remaining opportunities for support. 
 
A few of the Campaign's many highlights to date are listed below:

• The Raymond A. Rich Leadership Institute, including a $65 million Hudson River estate and a $10 million endowment
• A lead gift from Board of Trustees Chair Ellen Hancock and her husband, Jason, to build the $35 million Hancock Center
• A lead gift from the Jeannette F. Schlobach Trust for a new student-run Investment Center
• 38 new endowed scholarship funds and 37 expanded endowed funds
• Gifts from more than 13,000 alumni, friends, parents, businesses, and private foundations
• New construction and renovation across the campus, including the Historic Cornell Boathouse, McCann Recreation Center, Tenney Stadium, Route 9 pedestrian walkway, and stone gates at the College’s three entrances
• A $500,000 National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant, which resulted in a total of $2,000,000 for ongoing support of Hudson River Valley Institute programs
• Several National Science Foundation grants, including ones to support full scholarships for computer science students and nearly $1.4 million to build and equip a state-of-the-art enterprise computing lab

Even before it was launched publically in 2007, a hallmark of The Campaign for Marist has been exceeding expectations. A preliminary goal of $50 million for the campaign was raised to $75 million by a Board of Trustees that had faith in the engagement of the Marist community and was prepared itself to lead the way.
 
Then, in 2009, Marist received the largest gift in the history of the College in the form of a bequest from the estate of Raymond A. Rich. A magnificent 42,000-square foot Beaux Arts palazzo and $10 million to endow the Raymond A. Rich Leadership Institute, together valued at $75 million, provided Marist with a truly transformational gift and provided the impetus for the Board of Trustees to double the campaign goal to $150 million.
 
Now, just over four years into the public phase of the Campaign, the College has reached that dramatically increased goal thanks to the more than 13,000 alumni, friends, parents, businesses, and private foundations that have made gifts. But the Campaign’s final months present an opportunity to meet remaining priorities and to bolster scholarship and other endowed resources to benefit additional students.
 
Said President Murray, "We’re excited to see how much more we can accomplish in the remaining months of the Campaign."
 
For further information, call the Marist College Office of Media Relations at (845) 575-3174.