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Centennial Campaign and cornerstone building project underway

High Center groundbreaking

On May 12 Messiah College publicly launched its Centennial Campaign—a $40 million fundraising effort to construct the Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts and to raise funds for student-focused initiatives and scholarship endowments.

At a dinner and program with trustees and community friends of the college, Messiah President Kim Phipps announced that the College has raised more than $30.7 million towards the campaign’s $40 million goal.

“I believe that there is no better time in our history, and no better way to honor the courage and vision of our founders, than through the initiation and successful completion of the Centennial Campaign,” said Phipps. “This comprehensive, $40 million fundraising initiative, inaugurated during Messiah’s Centennial year, will enable the College to fulfill a long-awaited dream and promise of a new worship and performing arts center.”

The Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts
The worship and performing arts center construction project is the cornerstone of the Centennial Campaign. Already $18 million of the $19 million goal has been raised towards the projected cost of $28 million for the facility.

The center, an addition to the College’s existing Climenhaga Fine Arts Center, will include a performance hall that seats 825 with additional seating for a 150-voice choir, a recording studio and recital hall, and enhanced classroom, office, and practice spaces for the music and theatre departments.

High Center renderingThe building is named for Calvin and Janet High (pictured above in the center with, from left to right, Kathie Shafer, vice president of operations, Kim Phipps, president, and Barry Goodling, vice president of advancement). The Highs are longtime friends and supporters of Messiah. Mr. High was a member of the board of trustees for 25 years. He and his wife are parents of a graduate and grandparents of two 2010 graduates and one current student.

A ceremonial groundbreaking for the center was held on May 13. Construction will actually begin in early 2011, and the building is expected to open in early 2013.

Other campaign priorities
The $40 million Centennial Campaign will run through December 2012 and also seeks to raise funds for the following priorities:

Scholarship Endowment and Trusts
Campaign Goal: $10 million
With the recent global downturn in the economy, even more families require assistance to make a private education a reality for their son or daughter. By meeting its $10 million goal, Messiah College can help more qualified students access and afford a Messiah education.

Annual Fund
Campaign Goal: $6 million
The Annual Fund—a pool of resources that support the annual operating needs of the College—is used to fund a broad range of initiatives including study abroad programs and undergraduate research opportunities; providing financial assistance to students; supporting athletic teams; and supplementing the College’s operating budget.

National Endowment for the Humanities Challenge Grant
Campaign Goal: $800,000
In 2006 the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) awarded Messiah College a $200,000 challenge grant. Out of 122 institutions applying for the grant in 2006, only 22 were funded, and Messiah was the only liberal arts college funded for a humanities center that year. To receive the full amount of the challenge grant, however, Messiah must raise $600,000 in private support.
Messiah’s Center for Public Humanities is recognized for its innovative public outreach programs, including the annual humanities symposium, the Hoverter course (an outreach program that provides tuition-free higher education courses for those whose circumstances have prevented them from pursuing a college education); a history day competition for regional high school and middle school students; and lectures, film series, seminars and workshops that are open to the public.

Student Enhancements
Campaign Goal: $4.2 million
This portion of the campaign seeks to fund the programs, equipment and projects that enhance students’ educational experiences at Messiah. Examples include new equipment and laboratory expansions for the science, health and nursing programs, faculty research and scholarship grants, outreach programs at the Harrisburg Institute, sports equipment and travel for athletic teams, and funding for student mission and service trips.

Visit the Centennial Campaign website.

See photos from the Centennial Campaign Gala.

Read the news release announcing the campaign and see renderings of the new worship and performing arts center.

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