John Brown University announced a capital campaign Wednesday that aims to raise $125 million by the school's centennial in 2019.
According to a news release from the school, $58.3 million of that total has already been given or pledged, including $5 million in new donations announced Wednesday.
The campaign, dubbed "The Next Century: A Hope and Future," aims to secure $35 million for scholarships, $30 million for new and renovated facilities, $10 million for academic endowments, $25 million in estate gifts for future endowments, and $25 million for future projects and operating support.
“Since the university’s founding almost 100 years ago, JBU has endeavored to train students to honor God through service to others,” JBU President Chip Pollard said in the news release. “As we look forward to the start of JBU’s next century, this campaign is about strengthening that same foundation of excellent Christian higher education so that future JBU students will also have the opportunity for a hope and a future.”
The new gifts are:
- An anonymous $2 million gift to create the Charles Peer Endowed Chair in Visual Arts
- An anonymous $1 million gift challenge grant for visual arts scholarships
- An anonymous $1.2 million grant for renovation of the Walton Lifetime Health Complex
- A $300,000 gift from the Soderquist Family Foundation for for a Strategic Initiative Fund for the Soderquist College of Business
- A $500,000 commitment from the city of Siloam Springs for the health complex.
JBU is a private, Christian university based in Siloam Springs.