News and Events
[printer friendly version]posted on 10/20/09
Saint Joseph's College Receives $10 Million from Anonymous Donor
RENSSELAER, Ind. – Saint Joseph's College has received a $10 million pledge from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous.
The donor, who is a graduate of the College who values the Catholic education he received at SJC, recommends that the gift be used for scholarships, but may be used for general support of SJC and its programs as the SJC Board of Trustees in its sole discretion deems fit. Above all, the donor desires nothing but the "maximum benefit" of the gift for the College. In giving the gift, which is the largest in the College's 120-year history, the donor hopes to encourage potential scholarship recipients to think about establishing a similar scholarship when they reach an age or capacity to do so. "I very much want [the recipients] to understand the need to think about helping others and to give back to others what they have been gifted," the donor said.
"The College is blessed to receive this monumental gift," said Dr. Maureen Egan, Vice President for Institutional Advancement. "For me, the gift reinforces the importance of relationship-building and good stewardship in fundraising."
SJC President F. Dennis Riegelnegg, Ed.D. said that the gift will help to secure the College's legacy. "This is truly an historic occasion for Saint Joseph's College," said Riegelnegg. "This gift, the largest in our history, will help us in providing financial aid to our current students as well as help us to secure our future. We are extremely appreciative of the donor's generosity."
Egan said that the pledge demonstrates the true nature and value of benefactors to an institution like SJC. "Donors will do what they can, when they can," said Egan. "This gift proves that point, and I am eternally grateful for the magnitude of this one gesture."
Saint Joseph's College, named a "character-building college" by the Templeton Foundation and a "best Midwestern college" by the Princeton Review, is a four-year, Catholic, liberal arts college offering 75 major, minor and pre-professional programs. Founded and sponsored by the Missionaries of the Precious Blood, SJC is located in Rensselaer, Ind., approximately 90 minutes from both Chicago and Indianapolis, on a park-like campus of 180 acres and has an enrollment of over 1,000 students.
