Colgate's Campaign for the Third Century Reaches Halfway Mark with $20 Million Gift to Financial Aid

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Scenic photo of campus in the summer.
By Mary Donofrio May 15, 2023

With the receipt of a $20 million gift toward the Colgate Commitment from John K. Hoyns ’76, Colgate University has raised more than half of the $1 billion goal set for the Campaign for the Third Century

“To put our achievement in perspective, if Colgate were to end its campaign today, this would be among the top-five largest of any liberal arts college,” says President Brian W. Casey. “Far from ending today, however, we are inspired to continue. Our ambition is reaffirmed.”

Launched publicly in April 2022, the Campaign for the Third Century will fund initial priorities within the Third-Century Plan, including the Colgate Commitment, Colgate’s long-term financial aid initiative to increase student access and affordability. The $20 million gift is one of the largest ever received among Colgate’s peer institutions in support of financial aid.

In recent months, the University has received generous support from alumni, parents, and friends in support of every pillar of the Third-Century Plan: academics; creativity and innovation; faculty; admissions; residential life; athletics; campus and sustainability; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and life after Colgate. 

The majority of campaign donors participate through the Colgate Fund, which provides immediate resources for programs across the University. Gifts to the Colgate Fund helped to launch the Colgate Commitment and allow Colgate to enhance student life, support athletics, and improve the physical campus.  

Additionally, recent major gifts in support of arts, creativity, and innovation and the Middle Campus, including the Benton Center for Creativity and Innovation, have helped the University advance towards its $1 billion goal. A key component of the Third-Century Plan, the reimagined Middle Campus will promote connections among the arts, sciences, and technology.

“Several initiatives in the Third-Century Plan — including the building of Middle Campus and renovation and expansion of Lower Campus — will take years to complete,” says President Casey. “But we are relentless in our pursuit of excellence, and we have demonstrated time and again that we are more than capable of such sustained effort.”