WC's $72 Million Campaign Goes Public At its September meeting, the Washington College Board of Vistwo years of strategic planning, and will ultimately lift the College to new levels of distinction," said College President John S. Toll. "We will continue to embrace the broad education in the liberal arts envisioned by George Washington and to reinforce the values that he represented so well." The "quiet" phase of the five-year campaign, authorized by the Board in September 1997, already has raised $40 million in gifts and pledges, placing the drive well past the halfway mark, with four years to go. "Our friends and supporters have been incredibly enthusiastic in their response to this campaign. Now we have the momentum we need to carry us through the itors and Governors publicly announced a $72 million campaign intended to raise Washington College's profile and to establish it as one of the leading liberal arts colleges in the country. During a gala Colonial luncheon, replete with fife and drum corps and a George Washington impersonator, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley made a case for liberal arts institutions within the broad spectrum of American higher education, stressing the importance of these institutions defining their own unique missions.
	By taking advantage of natural and institutional strengths, including its environmental setting, its highly regarded creative writing program, and the College's place in the national tradition as the first college founded in the new nation under the patronage of General George Washington, College leaders believe that the academic reputation of the institution will be enhanced and its position among its peer institutions will be strengthened.  "The Campaign for Washington's College reflects two years of strategic planning, and will ultimately lift the College to new levels of distinction," said College President John S. Toll. "We will continue to embrace the broad education in the liberal arts envisioned by George Washington and to reinforce the values that he represented so well." The "quiet" phase of the five-year campaign, authorized by the Board in September 1997, already has raised $40 million in gifts and pledges, placing the drive well past the halfway mark, with four years to go.	The Campaign for Washington's College will affirm WC's place in American history as the first college of the new nation and assure the future success of the institution.   "Our friends and supporters have been incredibly enthusiastic in their response to this campaign. Now we have the momentum we need to carry us through the  next four years and to reach our goal," said Campaign Chairman Jack S. Griswold, an investment banker from Baltimore who also chairs the board of the Maryland Historical Society. The biggest campaign gift to date is a $5 million grant from the Starr Foundation to establish a Center for the Study of the American Experience, which will seek to trace the evolution of modern American thought from its roots in the ideas of the nation's founders. The Center for the Study of the American Experience will be situated in the historic Custom House, at the foot of High Street in Chestertown. (see related story on page 5).	Other major gifts and grants early in the Campaign include $1.9 million for scholarships from the Hodson Trust, $1 million from the Grayce B. Kerr Fund and $500,000 from Breene M. and Shery V. Kerr, $1 million from Alonzo G. Jr. and Virginia G. Decker, $1 million from Jack S. and Toni Griswold, $1 million in lifetime giving from William B. '40 H'75 and Mary B. Johnson, and more than $1 million from W. James IV and Midge Price. Jim Price and Al Decker, who co-chaired the $43 million Campaign for Excellence in the mid 1980s, are honorary co-chairs of the current campaign. To date, members of the Board of Visitors and Governors have committed $15 million. In addition to funding the Center for the Study of the American Experience, the Campaign also will bolster two other strengths of the College-environmental studies and the writing program. Other campaign goals include $22 million in scholarship funds, an effort to attract the best students from diverse backgrounds; $20 million to bring new professors to campus and to raise faculty and staff salaries to more competitive levels; and $12 million for new construction, renovations, and other campus projects. w