Saint Vincent College plans $100M capital campaign for construction, programs
Saint Vincent College leaders announced the start of a $100 million fundraising effort — the largest capital campaign in the school’s history.
Steelers president and coowner Art Rooney II was on hand to deliver remarks in a ceremony at Heinz Field on the North Shore on Friday afternoon. Mr. Rooney is a member of the board of directors at Saint Vincent, which has been the site of Steelers training camp for the last 52 years.
“The campaign is named ‘Forward, Always Forward,’ which is something we try to teach our running backs to pay attention to,” Mr. Rooney said. “So it’s a great name for a campaign.”
Four major construction projects totaling $40 million are being planned for the college’s Latrobe
campus, including the recently completed $5.7 million James F. Will Engineering and Biomedical Sciences Hall, which opened Nov. 16.
Other projects in the works include an expansion of the library as a humanities and technology education center, technology updates for Alfred Hall classrooms and the Robert S. Carey Student Center, and a dining expansion to include a student life and community center.
Along with the $40 million construction projects, $20 million is earmarked to strengthen current programs involving academic and support services, student life resources, athletics, recreation and wellness.
Also, the college is seeking $40 million for its endowment to expand scholarships and endowed positions for faculty.
J. Christopher Donahue, presidentand CEO of Federated Investors Inc., and chairman of the board of directors, serves as co-chair of the fundraising campaign with his wife, Ann. He said there’s no timetable yet for when the other construction projects will be completed.
Prior to Friday’s announcement, the college had already raised $67 million in gifts and pledges toward its $100 million goal. Saint Vincent College president Norman W. Hipps said the school has been working on the fundraiser for three or four years — intensively for the last two — in advance of the public announcement.
“We’re happy where we are, but we know there’s a lot more work to do,” Mr. Hipps said.
With more than twothirds of the campaign’s goal already raised, Mr. Donahue said the next phase of the fundraiser will have to be “broader and deeper.”
“Usually, the last $33 million is the toughest to raise,” Mr. Donahue said. “But it’s also the time when you get to tell the story the broadest, demonstrate your success to date, and enliven the whole community to get to the $100 million.”