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RELEASED: May 13, 2004
DANVILLE, KY—Centre College needs approximately 900 more gifts to put itself in position to recapture the No. 1 national ranking in annual alumni giving percentage.
Centre currently stands at 54 percent alumni participation for the campaign year that ends on June 30. Using "Route 66" as the theme of this year's annual giving campaign, the College hopes to reach 66-percent alumni participation, which would likely propel the College to the top spot.
Centre has led the country in alumni-giving percentage 15 of the past 20 years, but has fallen just short the past two. The College is currently in a tightly contested push to the finish with Williams, Amherst, Carleton, Princeton and Davidson. At present, Williams is leading the pack with Centre closely behind in second place.
"We're pleased with our results to date," says Jamey Elliott '96, director of annual giving, "and we're cautiously confident as we come down the home stretch, but we have to finish strong. We'll certainly do everything we can to get back to No. 1 and we believe our alumni will respond to the challenge as they have in record numbers year after year. As an alum, I know I'm eager to be able to say 'we're No. 1' again."
In addition to helping reclaim the top ranking, 900 more gifts would also benefit The College Centre project. An anonymous alumnus pledged $100,000 to the project if Centre received 2,000 alumni donations between Feb. 1 and June 30, 2004. The additional 900 alumni gifts would meet that goal. For regular updates on Centre's progress toward the challenge go to http://flamerun.centre.edu/66challenge.html.
The College Centre project is a $22-million construction and renovation of Crounse Academic Center and Sutcliffe Athletic Center that will create a state-of-the-art academic and recreation/athletic complex. It's to be completed in 2005.
Centre is the only school in the country that can make the claim of having greater than 60 percent alumni participation for the past 21 years.
To make a gift at Centre, visit http://gifts.centre.edu/. For more on The College Centre, see http://www.centre.edu/cc/.
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