Campaign Passes $300 Million
Tony Fernandez and Andrew Ortiz ’18, an electrical and computer engineering major from Arlington, Texas
The campaign has added more than $42 million to the College’s resources for financial aid.
“Nothing is more important to the College’s future than strengthening financial aid,” says President Alison Byerly. That is the primary objective of a new strategic direction for Lafayette that Byerly announced in February. The new direction is centered on making substantial new investments in Lafayette’s people as the best way to ensure the College’s future success. This includes strengthening financial aid resources with the goal of becoming a college that is able to admit the most qualified students regardless of their ability to pay.
“When we reach our goal, we will join the ranks of the nation’s finest colleges as a place where all students are admitted solely on the basis of their own merit,” Byerly says. “Lafayette will be known not only for its distinctive, integrated liberal arts and engineering education but also for making that education available to all, regardless of financial means.”
To help accomplish this, Lafayette will expand enrollment by 350 to 400 students over six to eight years, add 35-40 faculty positions (to maintain or improve its 10:1 student-faculty ratio), and enhance faculty recruitment and retention through competitive salaries.
During the campaign, more than 100 new named scholarships have been established in the permanent endowment or through annual giving. Tony Fernandez ’81 was the featured speaker at the 12th Biennial Scholarship Recognition Dinner in February. He and his wife, Susan DePhillips Fernandez ’83, established the A and S Fernandez Family Scholarship Fund.
Increasing the number of endowed professorships is another campaign initiative that supports the College’s new strategic direction. To date, gifts to the campaign have endowed 12 new professorships and other key positions.
The College has more than three dozen endowed faculty positions, some of which date back more than a century, across all four academic divisions of the College. The professors who hold them are the stewards of a legacy forged over many years by outstanding teacher-scholars with the support of visionary benefactors whose impact on the College has been immense.
Lafayette College is defined by our people. Investing in the best students and faculty and in the vibrancy of our educational community is the best way
to ensure our strength and success in the future.
Campaign Progress: Highlights to Date
| Financial Aid $42 MILLION |
Academics $99 MILLION |
Connecting the Campus Community $68 MILLION |
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| Faculty Positions $21 MILLION |
Facilities $79 MILLION |
Annual Giving $58 MILLION |
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