Initiatives for the Main Campus will directly impact affordability and academic quality including endowed scholarships for students, the new academic building for the School of Nursing and the Oskin Leadership Institute currently under construction, and classroom enhancements and upgrades. True to the university’s civic engagement mission, other Main Campus campaign goals will directly benefit the community, including the Widener Partnership Charter School and a new Center for Community Outreach and Partnerships.
Chester, Pa.—Widener University on Friday announced the official launch of “Taking the Lead – The Campaign for Widener,” a $58 million, seven-year fundraising initiative to strengthen the university’s growing national reputation as an institution committed to leadership education, civic engagement, global awareness and academic excellence.
Widener President James T. Harris III unveiled the amount of the campaign at a gala for key university donors and supporters at the Four Season Hotel in Philadelphia. He also announced that the campaign had already raised $32 million toward the goal in the three-year “silent” or non-public phase.
“Widener University is entering a bold new era,” Harris said. “Building on our strong traditions of the past, Widener is taking the lead by addressing the challenges and seizing the opportunities that come with our rapidly changing world.”
“This campaign will strengthen those things that have made Widener great,” said Tom Bown, chair of the campaign and a 1967 graduate. “It will bolster our academic excellence, increase civic engagement opportunities, enhance global awareness, and help Widener emerge as a top institution in the area of leadership education.”
The ambitious campaign, the largest in the university’s 189-years history, includes $46 million for the Main Campus in Chester, Pa., and $12 million for the School of Law, which has campuses in Wilmington, Del. and Harrisburg, Pa.
Initiatives for the Main Campus will directly impact affordability and academic quality including endowed scholarships for students, the new academic building for the School of Nursing and the Oskin Leadership Institute currently under construction, and classroom enhancements and upgrades. True to the university’s civic engagement mission, other Main Campus campaign goals will directly benefit the community, including the Widener Partnership Charter School and a new Center for Community Outreach and Partnerships.
Goals for the School of Law aspect of the campaign include expanding and enhancing its signature programs such as the Health Law Institute, the Institute for Delaware Business and Corporate Law, the Law & Government Institute, the Environmental Law Center, and the Taishoff Advocacy, Technology and Public Service Institute. The Law School campaign will also focus on diversity initiatives including establishing an Office of Minority Affairs and a Diversity Leadership Forum.
The university has become a national model for how it marries its strategic plan, academic assessment, reaccreditation and fundraising initiatives to ensure accountability, said Linda Durant, senior vice president for university advancement at Widener. The Advisory Board Company, a consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. that focuses on identifying best practices in the fields of education, health care, and government, recognized the unique nature of Widener strategy, highlighting it in its study titled Assessing Student Learning Outcomes: Best Practices for Engaging the Faculty.
“We can not only tell donors that their gift will make a difference, but also demonstrate to them how their gift has created better-educated students,” Durant said. “We can show our donors that we are an accountable, responsible institution where their contributions will be treated as investments in the future.”
For more information on “Taking the Lead – The Campaign for Widener,” or to make a contribution, please visit the campaign website at campaign.widener.edu.
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