Marywood’s “Empower” capital campaign, which aims to raise $30 million to support “intergenerational learning experiences” for students, recently launched its public phase.

The Empower Capital Campaign is led by university President Sr. Mary Persico, Campaign Co-Chairs Lisa Lori and Robert Tamburro, and Vice President for University Advancement Dr. Renee Zehel. The campaign is aimed at creating financial access to education, reimagining and renovating spaces to help students and enhancing student experiences.

The first initiative, Create, is focused on creating new scholarships along with increasing funds for current scholarships from existing donors. With more scholarship opportunities, students will have the financial resources to achieve their goals and work toward their dreams, Zehel said.

“We’re looking at creating new scholarships in addition to having individuals who already have an established scholarship contribute more to that scholarship,” Zehel explained. She noted that as a result of the campaign, more students can earn scholarships and acquiring a Marywood education can become more feasible.

According to a memo sent to students by Persico, “Empower is more than just a campaign; it is a testament to our shared vision of enhancing education, fostering innovation, and creating boundless opportunities for our students.”

The Reimagine initiative is centered on renovating campus spaces. The campaign has received a generous donation from the Pascucci Family to add a pavilion to the O’Neill Center for Healthy Families. Zehel also said there is more to the renovation than just the new pavilion. More green spaces are also planned for that side of campus. The expansion of the building will accommodate the growing Physician Assistant program by adding new technology and labs.

Another campaign goal is to renovate the Shields Center for Visual Arts and repurpose it for the growing School of Business and School of Architecture. Renovations to classrooms in the Liberal Arts Center to include more updated technology are also planned.

The third initiative, Enhance, targets improving student experiences. This effort aims to support understaffed areas such as academic support through tutoring services, student retention and student counseling. According to the Empower Case for Support, a comprehensive campaign outline, the Enhance initiative hopes to support student interests through annual and endowed support from donors.

Annual support would come from scholarship donations but endowment gifts are normally larger donations. In an example Zehel gave, she said “ Endowment gifts are usually larger donations of around $50,000. So if you gave $100,000, it goes into that endowment fund, so only 3% or 5% of those earnings are available for spending that way the support for that program continues in perpetuity.”

Marywood is a multi-generational campus and the Empower campaign would affect more than the students, the support document said, “These experiences demonstrate the idea that universities should be the hubs of society, not stand-alone entities separated from the community.”

Students can get involved in helping out with this campaign by volunteering and working as social media ambassadors, Zehel said. Spreading the word and volunteering with Giving Day can help the Campaign and thus help better the student experiences at Marywood.

The university’s next Giving Day will occur April 10, 2024. On Giving Day, clubs, programs and other organizations come together as a way to raise money for their extracurricular and academic pursuits. Zehel hopes the upcoming Giving Day can be the biggest one yet if the word is spread.

“I think one of the things about this campaign…is that I feel like we have to shout from the rotunda that we really need to let people know how a Marywood education empowers,” she commented.

According to the Persico memo, “this campaign has the power to reshape our campus, enhance the educational experiences we offer, and create a ripple effect that extends far beyond our University’s walls.” Although donating full scholarships and gift recognition does not fit into everyone’s budget, Zehel said that every donation, no matter the size, can benefit the campaign and work toward improving this community.

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