Quinnipiac University and Office of Development and Alumni Affairs announced Saturday “For the Ambitious: A Campaign for the Next Century” — the first comprehensive fundraising campaign in the school’s history — aiming to raise $160 million for the university and its students.
“We are heading into the next century of what Quinnipiac wants to become,” said Nick Wormley, vice president for development and alumni affairs. “Always looking at students and determining what their needs are is the No. 1 priority, so if we look at the campaign it really stemmed from the last five to six years of (President Judy) Olian being here and really talking about this ambitious campus that we have.”
The university hopes to allocate the goal amount across four different sectors — $55 million for building students’ scholarships and financial aid, $30 million for advancing faculty excellence and leadership, $50 million for launching innovative programs and $25 million for investing in capital projects.
“We certainly engage alumni, parents, students from California to Boston in that philanthropic process,” Wormley ‘02 said. “College tuition is not cheap, what we are trying to do is make sure that our alumni and our families and even our community members can provide an experience to the students and we don’t have to raise costs.”
$78 million was already raised according to the campaign’s website.
Quinnipiac has had the second best retention rate since 2012 this past year, in fall 2023 it was at 89%, according to John Morgan, associate vice president for public affairs.
“Just over 60% of incoming students said that Quinnipiac was their first choice, so knowing that students want to come here is what really is driving the campaign,” Wormley said.
Anyone can easily donate through the link at the campaign’s website, with pre-set amounts of $20.25, $50, $100, $500, $1,000 or $2,500; or set their own amount; choose where the donation should be targeted and choose their affiliation. Payments are accepted through Venmo, PayPal or ApplePay directly on the website.
This story will be updated.
