As Puget Sound’s One [of a Kind] Campaign continues to garner increased support, The Trail is delighted to share with you an update on the campaign’s progress and successes.
Started in 2011, the One [of a Kind] four-year campaign goal was to expand resources for students as they begin, carry out and finish their education on this Tacoma campus. Striving for a total of $125 million, through the hard work of President Ronald Thomas and other university administrators, the amount raised as of this March is nearly $94 million. This money will be parceled out to different campus zones to expand, evolve and explore more ways to live and learn.
The campaign, which closes June 30, 2015, has profiled several students, highlighting their on-campus aspirations and achievements. It has also focused on celebrating professor dedication and commitment to a ‘confluence of the elements’ in their courses here at Puget Sound, across all disc
iplines. Many alumni continue to support the Puget Sound campus and mission through both financial stewardship and civic engagement, highlighting the value of a Logger education. Their campaign testimonies feature portraits of their accomplishments post-undergraduate study and the diverse ways in which they have become involved in local, state national and global matters.
The campaign mission statement is as follows: “We are independent thinkers and intrepid innovators. We take the lead, seek new paths, march to a different drum. We are the people who are drawn to the University of Puget Sound and we come from (and go to) every state in America and dozens of countries around the globe. We work in every conceivable profession and dream up new ones all the time. We are indelibly different from each other. But one thing unites us: an insatiable aspiration to make a mark, to engage the world, and make it a better place.”
The three priorities of the campaign are Endowment, Annual Giving and Facilities. The endowment intends to enhance student life through financial aid, library support and athletics. The Annual Giving—an Alumni, Parents and Friends Fund—is designed to continue building a strong financial foundation which will maintain the essence of a Puget Sound education. Facility updates will include the expansion of the Fitness and Aquatic Center, as well as the already-constructed Weyerhaeuser Hall to create inspiring places to learn and grow.
Most recently, alumna Linda Sanderson Melvin, class of ‘67, has decided to permanently fund an honor named after her brother-in-law—the Roger Williams Endowed Scholarship for Physical Therapy—with a gift of $50,000. Melvin became a member of the Legacy society 13 years ago by deciding to include Puget Sound in her will. Generosity such as hers is integral to the campaign and Puget Sound’s future success. She is just one of hundreds of committed alumni supporters of the One [of a Kind] Campaign and education at Puget Sound.
The Senior Class Gift Campaign is one way that current students are supporting and will continue to support Puget Sound after they graduate. Seniors are asked to pledge $5 during their last year of undergraduate education and then $10, $15, $20 and $25 during the next four years, respectively. The class of 2013 is currently breaking the participation records of other classes. To donate to this campaign, go online or stop by the Annual Giving office, Jones 304.
The sum of $125 million mirrors this year’s “To the Heights” motto, which surrounds our school on this year’s 125th anniversary. Students all over social media sites including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram have been hashtagging their photos and comments with #totheheights and #drivefor125, an athletic campaign celebrating Puget Sound’s excellence in athletics and ambition to secure 125 wins during conference games for all fall, winter and spring sports.
Pop by Jones Hall to the Donor Relations office for a One [of a Kind] brochure or special edition of Arches magazine featuring several alumni profiles. Also, check out the campaign website, http://www.pugetsound.edu/one-of-a-kind/ to watch videos of alumni, current students, professors and other professionals whose commonality continues to be the change Puget Sound made in their lives.