Campaign for A More Perfect Centre exceeding expectations

RELEASED: December 20, 2007

DANVILLE, KY—As the year closes, so does Centre College's most ambitious fundraising campaign to date. The Campaign for A More Perfect Centre will end on a high note, exceeding its $120 million dollar goal by a substantial amount.

Richard Trollinger, Centre's vice president for college relations, says, "To be sure, the Campaign has exceeded my fondest hopes for its success."

The culmination of the Campaign comes on Dec. 31, 2007, four years after it was publicly launched at the annual Centre Associates dinner in Louisville in January 2004.

"At that time, we also announced that following four years of public solicitation, we would celebrate the success of the campaign at the Centre Associates dinner in January 2008," Trollinger says. "Because the Campaign has been so very successful, there's a great deal of excitement about it, which will make the celebration in Louisville next month all the more festive."

Already $36.2 million in new endowment for student scholarships has been committed, which will reduce the cost of a Centre education for many students. More than $12 million in new endowment for faculty professorships has been given, allowing the College to better reward the individuals who teach at Centre. In addition to these benefits, Centre has already seen campus improvements as a result of the giving, most notably the College Centre project—the renovation and expansion of Crounse and Sutcliffe halls completed in 2005. Also, the science equipment initiative, which attracted a challenge grant from the Kresge Foundation, made possible the purchase of $750,000 in new laboratory equipment and the establishment of a $1.25 million endowment for the ongoing maintenance and replacement of laboratory equipment.

Trollinger adds, "Because of The Trustee Challenge, it's fair to say that the Campaign for A More Perfect Centre is helping to fund implementation of two strategic plans—the one that has guided the College since its adoption in 1999 and the one that will be adopted in January 2008."

Centre President John Roush couldn't be happier as he rings in the New Year and a new period of growth at Centre.

"Susie, Richard Trollinger, other members of the development staff and I have greatly enjoyed traveling much of the country to tell the College's story—one of high achievement and opportunity, one of immense promise, one of disproportion in every aspect," Roush says. "Centre's alumni and friends have responded in ways unimagined when we started the Campaign, and this is what happens at America's best colleges and universities. We are grateful beyond measure.”

Final sums and figures of the Campaign for A More Perfect Centre will be publicly announced in January following the Centre Associates dinner in Louisville.

- end -

Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. 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.