JBU launches $125 million campaign

Photo submitted Chip Pollard, John Brown University president, announced JBU’s $125 Million Campaign for The Next Century on Wednesday morning at the Berry Performing Arts Center.
Photo submitted Chip Pollard, John Brown University president, announced JBU’s $125 Million Campaign for The Next Century on Wednesday morning at the Berry Performing Arts Center.

John Brown University announced plans to raise $125 million before the school's 100-year anniversary in 2019. The announcement came during a capital campaign launch held in the Berry Performing Arts Center on Wednesday morning.

The funding drive, titled "The Campaign for The Next Century: A Hope and Future," is designed to secure financial commitments in five areas including $35 million for scholarships, $30 million for new and renovated facilities, $10 million to endow academic excellence, $25 million in estate gifts for future endowments, and $25 million for future projects and operating support.

The university also announced five major new contributions totaling $5 million during the event.

JBU is already half way to it's goal, having raised $58.3 million during the first two years of it's private capital campaign for previously announced projects, president Chip Pollard said. The announcement on Wednesday kicked off the public phase of the seven-year campaign.

"Since the university's founding almost 100 years ago, JBU has endeavored to train students to honor God through service to others," Pollard said. "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."

More than half the campaign goal will be dedicated to providing student scholarships, helping to keep the university affordable in the next century, Pollard said.

The school's tuition is in the bottom third of all Christian colleges, Pollard said. The university's commitment to quality and affordability is one of the factors that led it to be ranked No. 1 or 2 overall and best value among Southern Regional Colleges by U.S. News over the past five years, he said.

The university currently has more than 85 percent of students receiving financial aid with more than a quarter of those enrolled being eligible for Pell grants offered by the federal government to low-income students, he said.

The gifts announced during the event included:

• An anonymous $2 million gift to create the Charles Peer Endowed Chair in the Visual Arts department.

• An anonymous $1 million gift challenge grant for visual arts scholarships.

• An anonymous $1.2 million gift for the renovation of the Walton Lifetime Health Complex.

• A $300,000 gift from the Soderquist Family Foundation to Soderquist College of Business.

• A commitment of $500,000 from the city of Siloam Springs for the Walton Lifetime Health Center.

Peer, who will be the first person to hold the chair, was surprised by the announcement during the ceremony on Wednesday. The new endowed chair is part of a $10 million endowment for academic excellence project in the Next Century Campaign, according to a release.

Peer began teaching at JBU in 1987 and, with his colleague Dave Andrus, founded JBU's Visual Arts Department in 1990. Today the department is JBU's largest program with almost 250 students studying in eight different fields.

The $1 million challenge grant will be matched dollar for dollar when JBU raises $1 million toward endowed scholarships for JBU art students.

The $300,000 gift to the Soderquist College of Business will be used to establish a Strategic Initiative and Innovations Fund. The fund will support the development of new graduate and undergraduate programs such as retail analytics and entrepreneurial studies. It will also support business faculty research and development.

"The Soderquist College of Business has been eager to launch new innovations for the past few years," said Joe Walenciak, dean of the College of Business. "This great gift from the Soderquist Family Foundation will allow us to move forward on exciting innovations that will equip our students with the best business practices."

Renovations for the Walton Lifetime Health Complex will cost between $4 and $5.5 million. The $1.2 million donation announced Wednesday will lead the project, along with the $500,000 commitment from the city of Siloam Springs.

The fitness complex, which was built in 1988 with a lead gift from Sam and Helen Walton, is the only comprehensive fitness center in Siloam Springs and provides the only indoor pool in the area, Pollard said.

The renovations will include a more accessible public entrance on the north side of the facility, making it easier for patrons to access the facility from parking lots, and to access the tennis courts and community trail. It will expand the current heating and cooling system to provide air conditioning for the entire building, provide new decking and mechanical systems for the indoor pool, renovate the locker rooms and expand and improve the fitness area.

"With growing usage and the age of the facility, significant renovation is needed to continue serving students and patrons as well," said Robyn Daugherty, JBU athletic director. "Currently, more than 1,000 community members, 350 faculty and staff members, and more than 1,300 students regularly use the facility."

Other previously announced projects that are part of the campaign include:

• The $6 million Simmons Great Hall, a 600-person-capacity banquet facility that opened in 2013.

• The $3 million Northslope Apartments, nontraditional student housing for 94 students, that opened in 2013.

• The $5.5 million J. Alvin Brown Hall renovation project, which completely gutted and remodeled the historic men's residence.

• A $12 million building fund and endowment for a proposed new nursing program at JBU. JBU is scheduled to break ground on a new state-of-the-art nursing building in August of 2015.

General News on 01/25/2015