The Bell
Gordon College Unveils a $130 Million ‘Faith Rising’ Campaign to Serve Future Students
Celebrating 130 years since its founding, Gordon College today unveiled Faith Rising: The Campaign for Gordon College, a five-year, comprehensive campaign to raise $130 million to meet the evolving and dynamic needs of current and future students around affordability, academics and community. The campaign, which began three years ago with a quiet phase, publicly launched today during Gordon’s Homecoming Weekend with the announcement of a $75.5 million gift from an anonymous donor, one of the largest donations ever given to a Christian liberal arts college. The gift is designated for the College’s endowment and directed to fund student scholarships.
“Faith Rising is a reflection of Gordon College’s continuing commitment to stretch the mind, deepen the faith and elevate the contribution our graduates make around the world,” said Dr. Michael Lindsay, president of Gordon College. “The landscape of private higher education is changing dramatically, and this campaign furthers our commitment to serving future generations while advancing our distinctive mission. Faith Rising assures Gordon will serve our students for the next 130 years and beyond.”
In addition to dramatically increasing the size of the College’s endowment, the gift will fund Gordon’s premier honors scholarship (introduced two years ago through its Global Honors Institute). Additionally, it has already allowed Gordon College to increase its institutionally funded financial aid by 15% for new students coming in the fall of 2020. At each level of the school’s merit scholarships, there are increases between 11% and 33% in dollars committed to new students for the fall of 2020.
“We believe this campaign will ensure that the high school students of today who desire an outstanding Christian education can still afford to be the Gordon students of tomorrow,” said Myron “Mike” Ullman, Chair of the Faith Rising campaign, Chairman of Starbucks and former global retail executive in Asia, Europe and the United States. “As the flagship Christian institution in the heart of New England, Gordon College has a rich history of preparing students spiritually, intellectually, relationally and professionally for a lifetime of growth—from their first job out of college and beyond. This extraordinarily generous gift and the Faith Rising campaign itself reflect a shared confidence in Gordon’s mission and long-term vitality.”
The completion of Faith Rising over the next two years will allow Gordon to diversify its revenue portfolio to overcome the challenges in the changing ecosystem of higher education, specifically those related to private colleges. The campaign strengthens Gordon’s future by increasing scholarships to make a Gordon education more accessible and affordable, intensifying the connections between academic theory and real-world experience for both students and faculty, and strengthening Christian community within a world-class educational experience.
With a focus on current and future students, Faith Rising will support:
- Financial sustainability through dramatically increasing merit and need-based scholarships, sustaining the College with unrestricted annual support and strengthening the foundation of the College with planned gifts;
- Strengthening teaching and scholarship, building multiple pathways for students to connect learning with doing through internships and practicum opportunities and graduate programs; and
- Expanding opportunities on and off campus for Gordon students while reinforcing the Christ-centered campus community that distinguishes Gordon and so effectively prepares the College’s graduates for lives of leadership and service.
