Goucher College Exceeds Fundraising Goal, Extends Capital Campaign

Release date: September 23, 2009 |

The Goucher College Board of Trustees has raised the goal in its capital campaign by 25 percent and extended it for two additional years. “Transcending Boundaries: The Campaign for Goucher College” will now seek to raise $100 million by June 2012. The campaign, which began its “quiet phase” in July 2003 and went public in October 2007, had an original goal of raising $80 million by June 2010.

By the end of August 2009, the campaign had already raised more than $90 million.

“We have a core of dedicated donors and supporters of the college who are making this campaign a success—so much so that we know we can surpass our original expectations and help bring Goucher that much closer to completing the transformation we have already begun,” said Janet Wiley, vice president for development and alumnae/i affairs.

One of the goals of this comprehensive campaign is to transform the academic facilities on campus. At the core of this effort was the construction of the Athenaeum, a signature multipurpose library and campus center that was opened officially this fall to much acclaim.

Other campaign goals include creating endowed professorships in a variety of disciplines (three have already been donated), developing innovative programs that help students fulfill Goucher’s study-abroad requirement, establishing a robust academic program in environmental studies, and funding new scholarships—both to attract and retain excellent students—and to ensure that Goucher remains affordable for students across the socioeconomic spectrum.

Funds from the Transcending Boundaries campaign also will go toward expanding diversity initiatives, including the highly successful Educational Opportunity Program that is increasing access to Goucher among Maryland students with great academic promise but severely limited financial means; improving campus athletic facilities; enhancing the Greater Goucher Fund; and launching other efforts to insure that Goucher is a vibrant and diverse community and that the college is a standard bearer in liberal arts education.

“The success of our capital campaign will touch the lives of everyone associated with Goucher College in one way or another, and it will encompass everything that Goucher stands for. The additional funds raised will help move Goucher toward prominence and distinction as a leader in higher education for our time,” said President Sanford J. Ungar.