Colorado College Bulletin

203 Armstrong Hall
Rounding the Bend on Our Capital Campaign

While Kathryn Mohrman is on sabbatical, I am happy to be serving Colorado College in a new capacity as acting president for external affairs, along with my longtime colleague, Dick Storey (acting president for internal matters). 

My principal duties between now and Jan. 15, 2001, will be with our capital campaign.  But I was a charter member of the Campaign Executive Committee, involved with the planning and implementation of this campaign from the start.  During these months I will have the privilege of working closely with what I consider to be the best development staff the college has had in my 35 years at CC.

When I came to CC in 1965, we had a $9 million endowment and President Lew Worner remarked on his aspiration to triple it to $27 million. When he retired in 1981, we were nearing $50 million and we had received the then-largest single gift in the college’s history from David Packard, a gift initially of $7.5 million but ultimately worth more than $11 million.  Packard Hall, one result of that gift, stands in honor of his parents, who were CC students in the early days of the college.

In our first comprehensive campaign in the 1980s, during Gresham Riley’s presidency, we set a goal of $43.5 million and actually raised about $51 million.  Our endowment doubled to $100 million.  As of today, our endowment is approximately $360 million.

The Hewlett Foundation made it possible for us to create the substantial endowment for faculty professional development, known as the Tutt Fund, which insures resources to support faculty for long-term intellectual renewal and growth.  Now, both the Packard Foundation and the Hewlett Foundation continue to support us with current grants. During this campaign the Packard Foundation has given us $8 million.  Hewlett is presently supporting our further development of the Crown-Tapper Teaching and Learning Center.  And our historically greatest benefactor, the El Pomar Foundation, has given us $5 million in support of the new Russell Tutt Science Center.

As I write, we are in the last 10 months of our second comprehensive campaign.  Our goal is $83 million and we have so far raised $72 million.  The development staff and I hope to reach or surpass the $83 million target by January and to go beyond it in the last phase of the campaign.  Of course, we cannot guarantee that will happen, but we believe it is possible and we are devoting every effort to achieving that.  At this moment, we have proposals in place for close to $20 million to benefactors and foundations. We are now set up to raise between $10 million to $12 million per year whether we are in a formal campaign or not.  Not everything we want to accomplish will be realized even with the successful completion of this campaign.  We intend to maintain the momentum we have achieved in this campaign as a baseline from which to operate in the future because we know that our aspirations will continue to surpass any current resources.  We do not plan to rest on our laurels a year from now.

Already we have realized substantial benefits from this campaign.  We have in place five new endowed chairs: the Lloyd E. Worner Distinguished Service Professorship, the Fox Distinguished Service Professorship, the Schlosser Professor in the Arts, The Knight Chair for the Study of Free Enterprise, and the Hochman Chair in History.  And we have the prospect of more in the near future.  Four of these five chairs were made possible by gifts from members of our Board of Trustees. Faculty and staff should be ever mindful of the belief and confidence that our trustees repose in the college and in all of us who carry on the day- to-day responsibilities of preserving and strengthening liberal arts and science education. These chairs, designed to reward existing faculty who have served the college well in teaching, scholarship and service, decrease our dependency on annual operating revenues. Correspondingly, our increasing endowments for financial aid help to insure our competitiveness for the best students.

We are advancing our support for Tutt Library, for Asian Studies, for the intercultural experience, and for other signature programs.  We have created substantial endowments for technology.

The evidence of the physical renovation of the campus is all around us with the development of the Western Ridge, the East Campus, and the renovation and enhancement of many features of the infrastructure which are less visible but of no less importance to our proper operation.  And there will be more, especially when we finally complete the Cornerstone Arts Initiative with the building of the Cornerstone Arts Center.

As I look back over the past 35 years, I truly believe that CC is as strong as it has ever been and is as well situated as any college to move into the new century with confidence. 

When I left the deanship in June 1999, I told my faculty colleagues and the trustees that I was anxious to return to teaching and writing but that I would help out again if and when I could be of service.

They took me up on this a little sooner than I had in mind.

But I am true to my word, and I am happy to make good on the promise.  This is a worthy cause if ever there was one for a great institution of liberal learning.  I look forward to working with alumni, parents, friends, and colleagues to bring this vital moment in the college’s history to an exhilarating climax.

Check out "Postcards from China" to read correspondence and see pictures from Kathryn Mohrman's travels.  

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