In its first-ever comprehensive capital campaign dubbed “Be the Light,” Mississippi University for Women raised a historic $25 million, the university announced during homecoming festivities last week.
The campaign pays homage to the lyric in its alma mater: “illumines the path untrod.”
“I am so proud of the contributions that have been made to invest in our campus and our students,” MUW President Nora Miller said in a press release issued Monday. “These gifts will be the light for our future. I am grateful for the tireless work done by our Foundation Board and Development staff, and for the generosity of our donors.”
After a feasibility study was conducted in 2016, the results showed that MUW alumni were in support of a comprehensive capital campaign, and donations began without a set goal.
In 2017, the MUW Foundation board voted for the “Be the Light” campaign to have a goal of $15 million over the next five years to support endowed scholarships, athletics, facilities and programs and endowments.
“In a campaign, it is common practice to secure lead gifts, and this period of time is referred to as the silent phase,” MUW Executive Director of Development and Alumni Andrea Stevens told The Dispatch. “Even though it is called the silent phase, this is misleading because we were soliciting and accepting gifts from anyone who wanted to contribute. Securing lead gifts is how momentum is built for a campaign to grow.”
Stevens said once 60 percent of the goal was met, news of the campaign was shared everywhere to include alumni events and one-on-one alumni and donor meetings.
In April 2021, donations surpassed $17 million just a few months short of the five-year period. The decision was made to extend the Be the Light campaign for three years and increase the goal to $25 million.
“The unwavering support from our alumni and friends demonstrates their loyalty to the university and the students we serve,” Stevens said in the Monday press release. “The dollars raised are remarkable, and the impact of those dollars is transformational for our students.
On behalf of the MUW Foundation, we are forever grateful to our donors for their generosity in this historic campaign.”
Stevens said about 95 percent of the funds for the campaign are earmarked for certain projects by donors and about 40 percent of the funds are from multi-year commitments.
The emphasis of the campaign was to support scholarships with a goal of $18 million. The goal for athletics and endowments is $2 million each, and facilities and programs have a goal of $3 million.
“Some examples (of facilities and programs benefiting from the $25 million) are the College of Nursing and Health Sciences received funds for the Bill and Jo-Ann Vandergriff Simulation Learning Lab, a simulation hospital for our nursing students,” Stevens said.
“University Archives received funds for the Martha Jo Mims Digitization and Conversation Laboratory, and the music department received funds for the Nancy Knight Gilpin Music Lab and a new Steinway baby grand piano.”
Stevens said the positive momentum of the “Be the Light” campaign has had an impact on the “efforts to advance the university.”
During its homecoming celebrations on March 31, MUW announced a new capital campaign called “A Home for the Future” — a $13 million campaign to renovate Shattuck Hall for alumni and “friends of the university.” Plans for renovation include a boardroom for MUW Foundation and Alumni Association meetings, an event space with dinner seating for 200, overnight accommodations for alumni and friends and parking for alumni and guests.
“Shattuck Hall has such a rich and storied past for our alumni,” said MUW Foundation Board of Directors chair Jenny Katool. “There are so many special memories for alumni who dined and lived in Shattuck and our nursing and culinary arts students who studied in this historic building. We are excited it will be home to our alumni and a place where our students will have the best resources to plan for their careers.”
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