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10/13/06

SLU ANNOUNCES 'MOMENTUM' CAMPAIGN FOR $200 MILLION

CANTON - Stating "We are on the move. We must remain on the move," University President Daniel F. Sullivan has announced the kick-off of Momentum St. Lawrence, a campaign to raise $200 million by December 31, 2010, today at an event on campus. He added that over $86 million has already been raised toward the goal.

Priorities for Momentum St. Lawrence are $100 million for growth of the endowment, including scholarships, professorships and support of collaborative research by faculty and students; $45 million for facilities enhancement, including continued emphasis on science and arts facilities, plus classrooms, technology enhancement and residential improvements; $35 million for the St. Lawrence Fund, which represents gifts from alumni, parents and friends in support of the University's ongoing operations; $10 million for new programs and opportunities; and $10 million through bequests and trust commitments.

Announcing Momentum St. Lawrence, Sullivan noted that the University's last major campaign - Campaign St. Lawrence - ended on December 31, 2002, having surpassed its $130 million goal. "We have gotten to a stronger, better place," Sullivan said. "Now we must ensure the future that our efforts over the last decade, and Campaign St. Lawrence, have made possible. We must finish the facilities enhancement program begun in the last decade; we must greatly increase our endowment, the financial foundation of all excellent colleges, to ensure that the gains we have made can persist and be built upon; and we must continue to innovate educationally to ensure that our students receive the kind of education they will need for what is already the most challenging time in our nation's history."

Vice President for Advancement Michael P. Archibald stated "Meeting the objectives of Momentum St. Lawrence will enrich the lives of all of our over 2,000 students, and in addition will substantially strengthen the University's financial foundation though a much larger endowment more appropriate for a school of St. Lawrence's scope and stature."

Gifts and pledges since January of 2003 have comprised the private phase of Momentum St. Lawrence, excluding pledge payments to Campaign St. Lawrence. The University raised $22.6 million in cash in fiscal year 2005-2006, most of which has been included in the funds raised to date for Momentum St. Lawrence.

Trustee R. Sheldon "Shel" Johnson '68 has been named chair of the campaign steering committee and said that Momentum St. Lawrence will involve the support of a great number volunteers for the University. "I firmly believe that we will succeed beyond our plans, beyond our dreams, with Momentum St. Lawrence, and we'll do so because of the broad and deep network of volunteer support we have been privileged to assemble," Johnson said. "When Momentum St. Lawrence concludes in 2010, we will take enormous pride in all we will have accomplished together."

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More information: Momentum St. Lawrence Web site