A List
9/5/05

SLU RECEIVES $16.9 MILLION IN PRIVATE GIFTS IN 2004-05

CANTON - Gift income to St. Lawrence University totaled $16.9 million in fiscal year 2004-2005 (ending June 30, 2005), from private sources. This represents an increase of 19 percent over the previous fiscal year, which saw gifts from private sources at $14.2 million.

The University's annual giving program, the St. Lawrence Fund, grew by 6 percent, from $4.2 million to $4.4 million for the year. Participation by young alumni (those who graduated within the past 10 years), parents and those making leadership gifts ($1,000 or more) all increased.

Eight new gifts or pledges of $1 million or more were made to the University this year, many designated for the University's next comprehensive fund-raising campaign which is now in its early phase.

Two major initiatives to improve campus academic facilities also benefited from a number of gifts made during the year. The University secured gifts and pledges totaling $5.1 million in construction funds and $8.3 million in related endowment funds for the Sarah Johnson Redlich '82 Hall of Science; ground-breaking for this, the largest construction project in St. Lawrence's history, was held in May. For arts facilities in the Noble Center, which re-opened for the spring 2005 semester, some $267,183 in gifts was raised during the fiscal year, plus $223,000 in future commitments for the project.

Among the highlights for the year:

- A $5 million pledge from Trustee R. Sheldon Johnson '68 and his wife, Virginia ("Peachy"), of Norwalk, Connecticut, for the next comprehensive campaign, which Sheldon Johnson will chair

. - A pledge of $2.5 million from Chair of the Board of Trustees Lawrence J. Winston '60 and his wife, Sally A. Winston, of Bonita Springs, Florida, for the next comprehensive fund-raising campaign, to be used in support of the St. Lawrence Fund and to provide permanent funding for the Winston Room in the Student Center.

- Trustee Emeritus David L. Torrey '53, of Montreal, committed $2 million to renovate the University-owned building at 76 Park Street to become the Diana B. Torrey '82 Health and Counseling Center, in memory of his daughter.

- Trustee Emeritus Michael W. Ranger ' 80 and his wife, Virginia, of Morristown, New Jersey, have pledged $1,150,000 to the University's next comprehensive campaign. The Rangers' gift will be used in two ways: $1 million will be allocated to the Michael W. Ranger and Virginia Ray Ranger Scholarship Fund, established in 1993, and $150,000 will be used to support the annual St. Lawrence Fund over the next several years.

- The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New York City, awarded a grant of $250,000 to advance and integrate the arts curriculum.

- The Maurer Family Foundation awarded a grant of $200,000, helping to make possible the next phase of renovations and improvements to arts facilities in the Noble Center on campus.

- A new scholarship was established to assist Fort Drum military dependents or soldiers finishing their tour of duty in obtaining a college degree, with a gift of $175,000 from former Trustee John '59 and Josee Rostenberg of Hilton Head, South Carolina, and Greenwich, Connecticut.

President Daniel F. Sullivan said, "In this, St. Lawrence's sesquicentennial year, these fund-raising results are wonderfully heartening and uplifting. The University's founders were said to have 'lit a candle in the wilderness that will never be extinguished,' and we now know what they could only have hoped and prayed for - that St. Lawrence's quality and performance has inspired generations of alumni, parents, friends and others to ensure that we are here and will be here long into the future, of profound service to our students and the public at large. Indeed, through this continuing generosity, St. Lawrence is now a destination point, not a hard-to-see candle in the wilderness, sought by growing numbers of prospective students who know us well and can't wait to become a part of the St. Lawrence community."

Vice President for University Advancement Michael P. Archibald said, "This improved fund-raising performance in 2004-05 was made possible by donors at all levels. The eight new gifts or pledges of $1,000,000 or more represent the most in one year in the University's history, including the Campaign St. Lawrence years 1997 to 2002, when over $132 million was raised in total. At the same time, we received 400 more gifts to St. Lawrence this year than last, and 1,000 more gifts than two years ago. This overwhelming expression of support and commitment impacts every student, faculty and staff member and fuels the significant momentum St. Lawrence is enjoying at this time."

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