Elmhurst University has announced the completion of its ambitious “Elmhurst 150? fundraising campaign, an 18-month long effort which ended in June with contributions totaling $55.3 million, more than 10% over the campaign’s original goal of $50 million.
After exceeding the $50 million goal last fall, Elmhurst 150: The Campaign for Elmhurst University continued to gain philanthropic support from alumni, faculty and staff, parents, students, governmental, corporate and other entities until its conclusion on June 30, according to a release from the University. The University received more than 20,000 individual gifts from across the country and around the world. Over 3,400 donors made their first gift during the campaign.
When he announced the campaign at a Founders Day reception on December 6, 2021, school President Troy VanAken said, “This is our time, this is our moment.”
In a telephone interview, VanAken was asked if the success of the campaign fulfilled those words.
“It has,” VanAken said, “it was our time. I think the success we had with the campaign lays the foundation for future successes.”
School officials said funds from the campaign already are making a significant impact through gifts to the annual fund, which provides direct support to Elmhurst students and their education which will create scholarships and help to offset operational and programming costs.
Funds will also pay for improvements to Langhorst Field and other athletic and recreational facilities on campus. Renovations to R.A. Faganel Hall are finished, and replacement of the turf field and track at Langhorst Field will be completed later this summer.
The largest share of the new funds, $30 million, is going to the school’s endowment and restricted funds. VanAken has called that money “essential for short-term liquidity and long-term financial stability.”
In his recent conversation, VanAken said since 2016, the University’s endowment investment has grown from $90 million to over $200 million through the end of June. Each year about five % of that endowment goes toward what he called operational spending, the majority of which goes to scholarships.
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Over half of the school’s students are first generation college students and many will face challenges in funding their educations, challenges the school may help meet.
The success of the campaign has also expanded school plans in the area of health sciences. The original plan called for $12 million expansion of Memorial Hall, as the heart of the school’s health sciences initiative. That would have added 22,000 square feet of space there for research and instruction.
But this week, VanAken said, “this campaign already has us thinking we can do even more. We’d only anticipated an addition to an existing building. Now we’re going to build a whole new building that’s three times the size we anticipated.”
That will be a new 44,000 square foot building with an anticipated price tag of about $30 million. Some of that additional cost is expected to come from additional fundraising, in what VanAken called a “quiet phase” of seeking contributions over the next several years.
The proposed new building doesn’t yet have a name, VanAken said, “but we’re having some pretty robust conversations with some individuals about that.”
VanAken noted some other measures of the school’s success, including record enrollments in five of the last six years and strong operating budgets.
He concluded his conversation by saying that he was calling from South America, where he was brushing up on his Spanish skills in recognition of the school’s growing Hispanic student population.
Elmhurst University, founded in 1871, offers more than 70 undergraduate programs of study, more than 20 graduate and certificate programs in flexible formats, and the Elmhurst Learning and Success Academy for young adults with differing abilities. More information can be found at: Elmhurst University.
Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.