Pitt-Bradford has reached its Fifty and Beyond Capital Campaign goal of $17.5 million and will host a community celebration on March 27 to celebrate the completion of the most successful campaign in its history.
Pitt-Bradford officials launched The 50 and Beyond Campaign in 2006 to raise money for scholarships, academic programs, capital projects, and specific endowments.
“The funds raised in this very successful capital campaign will advance our institution on many fronts and position us for a very exciting future,” said Dr. Livingston Alexander, president of Pitt-Bradford. “The celebration on March 27 will enable us to express our thanks to the many donors who gave so generously in support of the campaign.”
Alexander invited the community to attend the Campaign Victory Celebration, which will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Blaisdell Hall and feature entertainment from student groups and complimentary hors d’oeuvres and beverages. Entertainment will include the Diamond Steppers student step group and the new student a capella group, Basic Pitches, as well as a photo booth, music by WDRQ campus radio and a “Minute to Win It” game.
Those who wish to attend are asked to RSVP to 814-362-5091 or upbalumni.org/celebrate.
Students are at the center of not just the celebration, but also the campaign, which raised $4.3 million for 81 new scholarships. During the course of the campaign, 3,345 students received donor scholarships.
“We know that many of our students would not be able to afford a college education without the scholarships our generous donors create. Our students are grateful to these donors, as are we,” Alexander said.
Greg Booth, campaign co-chairman and president and chief executive of Zippo Manufacturing Co., said at the campaign’s public phase launch in 2012 that scholarships were the top priority of the effort.
Booth and Harvey Golubock, president of ARG Resources and chief executive officer of Terra Green Energy, served as campaign co-chairmen to help lead the efforts to secure gifts from 4,041 donors.
Contributors included not only individuals, businesses and industries from the Bradford area, but also alumni and friends residing throughout the Pitt-Bradford service region and beyond. Fifty-nine percent of the faculty and staff at Pitt-Bradford also supported the campaign with financial contributions.
Lead donors for the campaign included members of the family of the late Zippo Manufacturing founder, George G. Blaisdell; the Agnes L. and Lewis Lyle Thomas Estate; Harry Halloran Jr.; Halloran Philanthropies; KOA Speer/Mukaiyama-Rice Foundation; William Mallinson; Richard Johnson; Richard E. and Ruth McDowell; John and Mary Ann Lambertsen; George and Sue Evans; and the Pembroke Foundation.
In addition to scholarships, another campaign priority was capital projects. Those projects completed or initiated during the campaign included the construction of the Harriett B. Wick Chapel; renovations of Swarts Hall, Fisher Hall and the Kessel Athletic Complex; and the initiation of the Marilyn Horne Museum and Exhibit in the Seneca Building, scheduled for completion in 2016.
In 2010, Pitt-Bradford realized its longtime goal of building a chapel on campus. The $2.5 million needed for the construction of the 150-seat chapel designed by Albert Filoni came entirely from private funds raised by the campaign.
As part of the addition of the chapel to the campus, a new Office of Community Engagement and coordinator position were created to spearhead the service efforts of students in the community. More than 60 local organizations were the recipients of 20,271 hours of volunteer service from students since the office was initiated in 2011 with Tonya Ackley as coordinator.
In 2007-08, Swarts Hall underwent a $6.4 million renovation, $900,000 of which was funded by Pitt-Bradford. The renovation increased classroom and office space by dividing the former O’Kain Auditorium into two floors and upgraded the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. Restrooms and elevators were also upgraded and technology improvements made. Finally, a completely automated sprinkler system was installed.
In 2011, Fisher Hall, home to the sciences at Pitt-Bradford, received a similar $5.9 million renovation to upgrade heating and ventilation systems, redesign labs and install a new emergency generator with Uninterrupted Power Supply for Computing, Telecommunications and Media Services.
During the summers of 2011 and 2012, the Kessel Athletic Complex was renovated. Significant improvements were made to the baseball, soccer and softball fields during the $2.68 million renovation project.
The renovations to the softball field included lighting, dugouts, scoreboard, outfield fencing, press box and bathrooms. The baseball field received a new concession stand, press box and restrooms, as well as disabled-accessible path to the field and safe parking. Locker rooms were added for visiting teams, and Wagner Avenue was paved.
In late 2013, the university was awarded $3 million by the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program for the renovation of the Seneca Building downtown. That project will include the creation of a Marilyn Horne Exhibit Center to house a portion of the archives donated by the Bradford native and opera legend.
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