On Friday, Oct. 1, Bryn Mawr held an on-campus celebration to mark the end of the most successful fundraising campaign in the College's history.
This fall, the Defy Expectation campaign comes to an end, having raised $301 million from more than 107,000 gifts, including 5,000 first-time donors and the largest single gift in Bryn Mawr history—$25 million from an anonymous alum. The campaign was publicly launched in 2016 with a minimum goal of raising $250 million.
The campaign has added $60 million to the endowment for financial aid and scholarships, enabling the creation of 100 new endowed scholarships and fellowships and the funding of more than 1,000 summer internships for Bryn Mawr students.
A generous $10 million gift from two anonymous parents established the Career & Civic Engagement Center (formerly LILAC), which supports students and alums in charting and navigating their life beyond Bryn Mawr.
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To meet students’ request for 21st century skills and knowledge, the campaign supported the creation of new majors in environmental studies, international studies, biochemistry and molecular biology, and neuroscience, and new minors in health studies, museum studies, and data science. The data science program, an interdisciplinary collaboration that includes related programming for students in all fields, was made possible with a transformational seed gift of $5 million and more than $1 million in additional gifts.
Campaign funds have also secured the long-term continuation of the 360° Program, Bryn Mawr College's signature interdisciplinary course clusters, which include student travel opportunities funded by the College.
To enrich and diversify the faculty, the campaign endowed six faculty positions in environmental studies, international studies, chemistry, and history of art.
A $1 million gift to the Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research funded the development of a trauma-informed curriculum that translates research on early adversity and trauma for children, adolescents, and young adults into effective practice models.
To enhance student life, the College invested more than $103 million in buildings and infrastructure over the course of the campaign, with the campaign raising more than $25 million for new capital projects such as the Park Science Center renovation, a new dorm—the first new residence hall in nearly 50 years—and the new Student Life and Wellness Center, slated to open in early 2022, that will provide centralized and comprehensive student support services.
In the final year of the campaign, during a global pandemic and at a time when the College needed support more than ever, donors contributed more than $40 million, which included more than $8 million in unrestricted funds and more than $4 million in direct pandemic relief gifts.
"The campaign was a collaborative effort between trustees, alumnae/i and parents, staff, faculty and students," says Chief Alumnae/i Relations and Development Officer Bob Miller. "The impact of these gifts will last far into the future and it was great to take a moment to celebrate."