RELEASED: Aug. 5, 2004

DANVILLE, KY—Centre graduates have basked in the afterglow this week after their alma mater recaptured the No. 1 spot in annual alumni-giving percentage.

The College received 5,686 alumni gifts during this year's annual-giving campaign to post the nation's highest annual-giving percentage at 63.4. Centre has finished first in giving percentage 16 of the past 21 years. In addition to reclaiming No. 1, alumni donations secured a $100,000 challenge grant gift made by an anonymous alumnus that will go toward The College Centre project.

"I'm really excited about our return to No. 1," says Anita Britton '76, president of the Centre Alumni Association and a partner with the Kentucky law firm Stoll, Keenon & Park LLP. "Alumni loyalty has always been our hallmark and it should be. The challenge will be to hang on to the No. 1 spot, and I intend to do everything in my power to see that we don't relinquish that position again."

Scott Pippin '93, who recently graduated from law school at the University of Virginia and will begin working in Washington, D.C., this fall, says the success of the annual-giving campaign is good news for the College.

"When nearly two-thirds of the College's alumni choose to support Centre's alumni-giving campaign, it's a way of saying 'thank you' for the education we received, and it's a vote of confidence for the direction Centre's now taking," he says. "I, like so many other graduates, believe strongly that Centre is a jewel in this nation's higher education system. I want to see that jewel shine even brighter in the future, and that's why I support the annual campaign."

Adds Amanda Richardson Brasfield '03 "Centre's degree of alumni support is a testament to the level of education and opportunity that students enjoy there. You never forget what Centre does for you." She is a middle school Spanish teacher in North Carolina.

Elliott Neubauer '64, CEO of All American Foods, Inc. in Fort Wayne, Ind., says being ranked No. 1 in alumni giving is helpful when it comes to being recognized by publications such as U.S. News & World Report.

"Anytime a college or university reaches a national No. 1 ranking in any positive category, all alumni have tremendous reason for celebration. To have reached the No. 1 position for percentage of national alumni giving once again and for so many times in the last 20 years is extremely prestigious. My wife, Joyce [Shewmaker '64], and I especially follow the rankings for Centre when they're released in broadly recognized publications such as U.S. News & World Report. Those rankings not only make us very proud of Centre, but we find these rankings extremely helpful in recruiting top students up here in northeastern Indiana. Congratulations to all the Alumni Office staff at Centre."

The College arrived at its giving percentage for 2003-04 using the same method of calculation that U.S. News & World Report uses to establish giving percentages. The magazine weighs annual-giving percentage when creating its annual college rankings.

To make a gift to Centre, visit http://gifts.centre.edu/.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.

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