The Campaign for Every Laurentian brought alumni to campus to help kick off a large fundraiser for the University. The campaign set a goal of $225 million in new gifts, commitments and pledges, and so far, it has raised $143 million of that. This is the highest fundraising goal St. Lawrence has set to date. Even with the recent Susan Collins controversy, the campaign has seen numerous gifts, including the largest donation in University history.

The events on campus this past weekend included lectures with faculty, research presentations by students and tours of renovations on campus. One major highlight was a campus-wide festival where alumni and parents were able to meet with current students, faculty and staff.

Throughout the coming months, there will be regional receptions for alumni and parents to continue to connect and hopefully achieve the monetary goal. The university was recently ranked third Alumni Network in the country by The Princeton Review, and through these campaign events, students were able to meet with many alumni on campus to learn and network.

There are four major priorities, which are the resources on campus and other aspects of SLU life the campaign hopes to address and strengthen.

“Endowing Our Future” is one major theme of the campaign, which includes goals of increasing the University’s endowment. This will help with financial aid for students and for other campus operations.

The second theme of the campaign is “Learning for the 21st Century,” which includes supporting the change in how students learn and strengthening the internship program. Joe Keniston, Director of Laurentian Engagement, said the University plans on making more opportunities for internships aboard and financial support for students looking to participate.

Another major priority is “Power of Connections,” which will enhance events like SLU Connect and the LINC program, and also help the University’s internship program.

The final major priority of the  campaign is “Campus Stewardship.” This refers to building renovations, which Keniston said a major project at Appleton Arena is a big one. These are the prioritized issues the Campaign for Every Laurentian hopes to strengthen.

The St. Lawrence Fund will also be supported by this event. This is the university’s operating budget that supports scholarships, study abroad and other opportunities for students. It also helps with emerging projects and to support opportunities that may arise. The campaign hopes to ensure the University’s financial security.

The name of the campaign highlights its major message: that this event will benefit all students of the University. Trustee and campaign co-chair Michael Ranger told the university magazine that people view the school as a “community,” as well as “a lifelong bond.” He hopes students will have a “modern complement” to his own experiences at the University.

The last major fundraising campaign St. Lawrence University organized was Momentum St. Lawrence; the goal was $200 million to be raised by 2010. This campaign helped support the renovation of the science department buildings.

According to Thomas Pynchon, the Vice President for University Advancement, the launch weekend of the campaign was a success. Visitors to campus and current students appeared appreciative of their experiences. “Students are set to benefit from the generosity of others” Pynchon said, as “donations will be focused on priorities including student scholarship, experiential learning opportunities, enhancing academic programs and keeping [the] historic campus beautiful, sustainable and accessible.”