THE CAMPAIGN FOR WASHINGTON'S COLLEGE
A Perfect Finish
by John Buettner '89
Red Letter Day. The Turning Point.
Call it what you will. Washington College made history on December
31, 2003, when it concluded the single largest fundraising campaign
ever conducted by any Maryland undergraduate college. With an
original goal of $72 million announced five years ago, the Campaign
for Washington’s College surpassed its original target
by nearly 44 percent, with contributions totaling $103.4 million.
A Magnificent Outpouring
“Simply put, this was a magnificent, unprecedented outpouring
of support for Washington College,” said Jay Griswold,
Chair of the College’s Board of Visitors and Governors
and Director of Brown Investment Advisory and Trust Company
of Baltimore. “I extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone
who has contributed to the success of this Campaign. Their generosity
speaks to their desire to raise Washington College to a higher
level in our region and among the nation’s colleges of
liberal arts and sciences.”
Campaign support came from two-thirds of our alumni, as well
as parents, who collectively contributed more than $12 million.
Seventeen donors gave $1 million or more, 105 contributors gave
$100,000 or more, $5 million came from The Starr Foundation
of New York, and The Hodson Trust contributed a total of $25.3
million to the Campaign through grants, donor challenges and
a pledge to match all contributions to the endowment of $100,000
or more. Support also came from many distinguished corporations
and foundations in the Mid-Atlantic region and around the nation,
such as The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, The Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation, The W. K. Kellogg Foundation and The Henry Luce
Foundation. Members of The 1782 Society gave more than $2 million
for unrestricted scholarship support. In addition to the $103.4
million raised for capital needs, endowment and general operations,
the College has earmarked nearly $20 million in planned gifts.
“The breadth of support for Washington College was outstanding,
and the number of national sources who contributed to our campaign
is a real compliment to our institution,” Griswold said.
“Many believe deeply and passionately in the distinctive
education that Washington College provides, and they translated
that belief into action. Each gift, no matter the size, was
a vote of confidence for the direction the College has taken
and for its future.”
The Toll Factor
The Campaign’s successful conclusion also represented
one of the highlights of Dr. John Toll’s nine-year tenure
as president. The former chancellor and president of the University
of Maryland System, Toll arrived at Washington College in January
1995 and will step down as president this year, but no one doubts
that his tenure and his reputation in academia—something
friends and supporters like to call “The Toll Factor”—inspired
a  confidence
and a renewal of spirit that went to the heart of the institution’s
origins and provided the Campaign with its unstoppable momentum.
“The founding of Washington College in 1782 as the first
college chartered after the Declaration of Independence was
an act of courageous optimism for a nation whose destiny was
still uncertain,” said Toll. “Today’s benefactors,
like the College’s founders, are bold optimists whose
generosity will help lift Washington College to new levels of
distinction and service.”
Toll is modest about the contribution that his reputation and
stature among academic peers and business and political leaders
played in the Campaign.
“I can only give my heartfelt appreciation to the Board,
to the alumni, and to the students, faculty and staff who have
let me be part of this extraordinary process and unique time
in Washington College’s history.”
He will long be a notable figure in that history, credited with
enhancing the quality and value of the education that Washington
College offers its students while elevating the school’s
national reputation. The Washington Scholars Program, an early
Toll initiative, played a pivotal role in reshaping the student
body. Today, more than half of all students enrolled at the
College are Washington Scholars, drawn from the National Honor
Society membership that comprises fewer than 10% of all American
high school students. Each Washington Scholar receives at least
$40,000 in insitutitonal aid supported by the Campaign for Washington’s
College.
A Declaration of Gratitude
To make sure that the outpouring of support from College friends
and benefactors would never be forgotten, on Friday, February
20, the Washington College community gathered in the Benjamin
A. Johnson Lifetime Fitness Center for a Washington’s
Birthday Convocation like no other. From the awarding of honorary
degrees to Trustees Sheryl Kerr and Dr. Ralph Snyderman ’61
and the unveiling of the newly designed class ring, to a performance
by the political comedy troupe The Capitol Steps, there was
a spirit of celebration and of jubilation as the College marked
an accomplishment that no other undergraduate college in Maryland
had ever achieved. Even our founding patron George Washington
appeared on stage—in spirit and portrayed by the renowned
Washington impersonator William Sommerfield—to give those
gathered a proper historical context for the College’s
fundraising efforts.
“My own contribution of 50 guineas
was a pittance when compared with this generosity, but it did
provide the College with enough to start,” said Washington.
“But I will tell you, dear friends, in many ways we had
to dig deeply into our pockets, and I know you did, too. Therefore,
we thank you, and the institution thanks you.”
Lest the celebratory occasion be lost in solemnity, Washington
quickly reminded the crowd of faculty, staff, students and benefactors
of the real reason for the occasion—to salute the success
of the Campaign.
Washington then introduced the performance by The Capitol Steps
and put everyone in the mood for the gala party, the College’s
“Declaration of Our Gratitude,” that followed.Marks
of Distinction
Some things at Washington College never change—its attention
to students, its wonderful locale, its sense of community. Yet
Washington College is a distinctly different institution today
from its standing just a decade ago, thanks to initiatives supported
by the Campaign. Advances in instructional technology, enhanced
facilities, a stronger endowment supporting faculty and academic
programming, and a heightened academic reputation validate the
five-year effort.
Academics
Six new academic chairs and professorships were created, allowing
the College to recruit and to retain talent that enhances curriculum
and provides leadership for new academic programs. Over the
past few years, the following new chairs and professorships
have been added: directorship of the C.V. Starr Center for the
Study of the American Experience; the Lammot duPont Copeland
Chair in Environmental Studies; the Alonzo G. and Virginia G.
Decker Chair in the Natural Sciences; the Connie and Carl Ferris
Chair in Business Management; the John S. Toll Chair (created
with donations from members of the Board of Visitors and Governors);
and the Adrian P. Reed Professorship in Earth and Planetary
Sciences.
In addition, two new academic research and outreach centers—the
Center for Environment and Society and the C. V. Starr Center
for the Study of the American Experience—and new and expanded
academic programs in archaeology, Asian studies, computer science,
and earth and planetary science have been launched. No longer
is a liberal arts education merely about students turning inward.
It’s about looking outward, engaging and changing our
world—and Washington College is on the leading edge. The
recent addition of language instruction in Arabic, and the inaugural
American Studies Institute for Muslim students organized last
summer by the Starr Center staff, demonstrate the College’s
commitment to fostering better understanding among nations.
“Without the Campaign, we might never have realized the
creation of the two centers,” said Toll. “These
centers enhance our academic programs and also reach out to
our region and to our world. They are an example to our students
and to our peers that the education Washington College provides
not only transforms individual lives but also has a great role
to play in society and the world beyond our campus.”
Scholarships
In addition to new professorships, academic programs, learning
and leadership opportunities for students, the Campaign has
doubled the amount of the College’s permanently restricted
funds earmarked for scholarships and other forms of financial
aid.
Nearly $42 million—40 percent of the money raised—supports
a variety of financial aid programs, named scholarships and
the highly successful Washington Scholars Program offering tuition
scholarships to incoming students who were members of their
high schools’ National Honor or Cum Laude societies, an
initiative of the Toll administration.
“Our original goal for scholarships announced in 1998
was $22 million,” said Bill MacIntosh, Vice President
for  Development
and Alumni and Parent Relations. “Campaign giving nearly
doubled this amount. Not only does this make private higher
education more accessible for many students, but it also makes
Washington College more financially desirable and allows the
College to attract and to recruit the best.”
Facilities
If new academic programs and scholarships remain invisible to
anyone looking at our campus, no one can fail to see the bricks,
mortar and beams that are now rising high above Campus Avenue.
At the Campaign’s conclusion in December, gifts to support
campus facilities and infrastructure totaled $23.4 million,
well surpassing the $12 million goal set in 1998.
Since its inception five years ago, the Campaign has supported
a revolution in building and renovation on our campus. A makeover
for our historic William Smith Hall, the refurbishment of the
colonial-era Custom House on the Chester River, the construction
of the Louis L. Goldstein Hall, and the new 45,000-square-foot
Science Center being built on Campus Avenue, all result from
the Campaign. And not all of these are academic buildings. With
budgetary relief provided by the Campaign, the College was able
to address student housing needs. More than three-quarters of
the College’s residence halls are either newly constructed
or fully renovated—a critical factor for attracting the
best students and remaining competitive in today’s higher
education market.
Peer Standing and Endowment
Since June 1997, the value of Washington College’s endowment
has more than doubled, to $109.3 million as of December 31,
2003, putting the institution on a firm financial footing and
setting the stage for future projects to reach endowment levels
like those of some of the nation’s top 50 liberal arts
colleges.
“Although all colleges saw a dip in their endowment values
during 2002 and 2003, our level is significantly ahead of where
the College was six years ago,” said Dr. H. Louis Stettler
III, Senior Vice President for Finance and Management. “The
Campaign has given us a much-needed boost.”
Stettler also noted another significant fact about the endowment
that bodes well for Washington College’s financial future.
“Only 12 percent of the College’s annual operating
budget is derived from earnings on the endowment,” he
said. “That translates as significantly less dependence
on the endowment as compared to many of our peers in the liberal
arts field. That helps to insulate us a bit more from some of
the ups and downs of the market.”
Comparing Washington College’s endowment with peers of
private, independent colleges in the Centennial Conference—McDaniel,
Muhlenburg, Ursinus, Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall and
Gettysburg—as well as with institutions such as Goucher
College in Baltimore and Roanoke College in Virginia, Washington
College can now claim a respectable center, Stettler added.
These colleges represent a range of endowments from approximately
$55 million to $180 million.
“Clearly, we’ve made great strides over the past
decade, and our fundraising levels truly distinguish us among
our peers, but we cannot rest at this point,” Stettler
added.
In addition to a growing endowment, Washington College surpassed
many of its peer institutions in five-year fund-raising averages,
noted Barbara Heck, Associate Vice President for Development.
According to data provided by the Council for Aid to Education,
Washington College had an average annual level of fundraising
of $12,304,000 per year for the period from 1998 to 2002, exceeding
over the same period the average levels of Goucher, Franklin
& Marshall, Dickinson, Gettysburg, Ursinus and McDaniel.
Ultimately, the measure of the Campaign for Washington’s
College is more than just money—an untold number of individuals,
their ideals and their deepest values are represented by the
$103.4 million raised. The measure of the Campaign’s success
is the positive transformation it is bringing to the students
and the campus. It is also the drive that is carrying Washington
College to the forefront of higher education in our region and
the impetus that can place Washington College among the nation’s
top colleges of liberal arts and sciences. In areas such as
academics, scholarships, faculty, facilities and endowment,
the College—with the help of the Campaign—has made
significant strides and is gaining on the “competition.”
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