NEWS
CENTENARY COLLEGE OF LOUISIANA


EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL NOON, THURSDAY, OCT. 7, 1999
Contact: Centenary News Service, 318-869-5120

Centenary Announces $90 Million Fundraising Campaign, $7.2 Million Gift, New Arts Complex, Construction and Renovation Projects

Multi-Building Arts Complex, Expanded Student Center, Massive Renovation of Mickle Hall of Science, Virtual Information Campus

SHREVEPORT, LA - A multi-building Arts Complex, a renovated and greatly expanded Student Union Building, and numerous other projects - along with a $90 million campaign to fund them - are in the works at Centenary College of Louisiana.

College officials today (Thursday, Oct. 7) announced the public phase of Centenary's "A Vision for the Future: The Campaign for Centenary," a multi-year effort that began privately in 1995 and will end on Dec. 31 next year.

William G. Anderson, chairman of the Board of Trustees, announced details of the campaign that he co-chairs along with Trustee Edward Crawford III. Anderson said that The Campaign for Centenary seeks $70 million in cash and $20 million in planned gifts.

"Toward our $70 million cash goal, we are pleased to announce that we have secured $62 million. Even though we have been fortunate to attract $62 million in cash before publicly announcing the campaign, we have a substantial number of physical plant needs that we must address."

The College's financial needs exceed $149 million, toward which Centenary seeks $90 million, said President Kenneth L. Schwab. "Although our current endeavor will not satisfy all of Centenary's needs, a successful campaign will move the college forward in a profound and enduring manner," he said. "A successful campaign helps us to bridge the gap between the tangible - brick, trees, mortar - and the intangible - our reputation as one of the finest liberal arts colleges in the nation."

Schwab outlined several projects that will be possible because of The Campaign for Centenary. "They represent a bold and ambitious step for the College as it enters the 21st Century, even as we celebrate our 175th anniversary this year," he said. Among the projects he outlined are:

  • Mickle Hall of Science renovation, $15 million

  • Moore Student Center Renovation and Expansion, $8.7 million

  • An Arts Complex, located on the northeast corner of the campus and including:
    -- A Performance Hall and Convocation Center, $17 million
    -- Combining and adding to the Marjorie Lyons Playhouse, $4 million
    --Hurley School of Music renovations and additions, $7.9 million, and
    --Relocating the Meadows Museum, 7. 5 million
  • Fitness Center and Natatorium (Swimming Facility), currently under construction, $9.5 million
  • Virtual Information campus, $2.8 million

    "In addition to the bricks and mortar aspects of the campaign, we also propose to strengthen the College's endowment by $27.3 million," Schwab said. In endowments, the College will seek private gifts for student scholarships, faculty chairs and professorships, an intercultural travel program, the Faculty/Student Research Fund and the Brown Chapel Organ and Building Fund.

    He also outlined ongoing efforts for the Great Teachers and Scholars Campaign, which has a goal of $26 million from 1995 to 2003, which ends the pledge period for the Vision for the Future effort.

    To strengthen the long-term financial health of the college and help ensure future excellence, Schwab said, the campaign has a goal of $20 million in planned gifts. "Planned giving opportunities include bequests, trusts, annuities, pooled income funds, retirement plans and life insurance," he said.

    Schwab also announced that Centenary has received a $7.2 million bequest from the estate of George A. and Lola N. Wilson and cited the gift as "a marvelous example of the type of philanthropy that undergirds efforts like The Campaign for Centenary." The late George Wilson, a native of Mansfield, La., was a 1930 Centenary graduate who practiced law in New Orleans and who was president and chairman of the board of Lone Star Steel Co.

    The Board of Trustees recognized and honored the following members of the Wilson family who attended the announcement event and luncheon: Mr. and Mrs. David Hudson of Dallas, Texas; Ms. Barbara Timon of San Francisco, Calif.; and Ms. Diana Younger Allen of Midland, Texas.

    "We are most pleased to announce this gift today and to be able to honor their memory," Schwab said. "They are the finest examples of friends who make a difference. As was true yesterday, Centenary today and tomorrow will realize its full potential only when we - alumni and friends of the College - do what we can in order to make that telling difference."

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