Augustana College: $100 million campaign starts new phase
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By Sheena Dooley | Friday, May 02, 2008 |
Augustana College’s newly announced $100 million capital campaign is expected to bolster the local economy while better positioning the school for the future, leaders say.
The college announced Thursday its largest campaign effort ever — dubbed “Authentically Augustana: A Call to Action” — to raise money to pay for a handful of building projects, larger scholarships for students and expanded academic opportunities, among other things.
“You have to dream it to achieve it,” said Steven Bahls, president of Augustana. “We are going to achieve the resources to create a college that meets the needs of tomorrow’s students.”
More specifically, the money will go to three areas:
n About $30 million will pay for
renovations to the Old Main building and a new student center. A portion has already been spent to convert Carlsson Hall into an academic building and to build Swanson Commons and Parkander Residence Center, which opened in 2006 and 2007, respectively.
n Augustana plans to pour $50 million into its endowment fund, which currently sits at $120 million. The new money will allow it to increase the average scholarship it gives students by as much as $7,000, provide funding for endowed faculty and pay for student-faculty research projects.
n Leaders will devote $20 million to pay for regular operating costs that range from utility bills to academic
programs.
Augustana has already raised
$81.5 million toward the goal, despite only now going public with the effort. That money came from members of the school’s Board of Trustees, students, faculty and organizations in the Quad-Cities, who gave their contributions over the past three years, said Charles Hammersmith, board member and co-chair of the campaign.
The college hopes to complete the campaign by 2010, Bahls said.
“What we have raised so far shows that this is built on a thoughtful strategic plan that puts students at its center,” Hammersmith said. “We now enter the public phase more than
80 percent on our way to our goal.”
Bahls said a majority of the $100 million will come from donors outside of the Quad-Cities and provide a major boost to the economy. It will do so through the creation of construction jobs, the addition of full-time jobs and the additional students the college will enroll. The college currently serves 2,500 students, a majority of whom are not from the area, he said.
“We want to see that every student receives the best,” said Thomas Bengtson, chair of Augustana’s mathematics department and of the capital campaign committee. “We’ve got the students, a great administration and a board that surpasses expectations. Now it’s time to turn our attention to the money.”
Sheena Dooley can be contacted at
(563) 383-2363 or sdooley@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.
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