Huron University College has launched the public phase of ‘Touch the Future: The Campaign for Huron’ with more than two-thirds of its goal achieved.
With gifts received to date of $8.6 million, the college has established a Campaign goal of $12.5 million – more than twice the size of its previous campaign result of $6.2 million from 1998-2002. Gifts to the campaign will primarily support endowments such as academic chairs, scholarships, bursaries, the Silcox Memorial Library, faculty research, the Chapel, and volunteer service and community-based learning opportunities for Huron students.
“Huron offers its students a very special educational experience,” says John Leitch, co-chair of the campaign. “The college’s commitment to small classes and professors whom students get to know in a supportive, community environment is one which prepares students for the future exceptionally well, both personally and professionally.
“Touch the Future will create new and ground-breaking opportunities for our students and faculty,” adds Leitch. “Our support is broad-based and we’re particularly proud of the generosity of alumni, friends of the college, parents, corporations, foundations and churches as well as faculty, staff and indeed students themselves for the campaign.”
Touch the Future is an invitation to honour the past, extend a hand and share the Huron experience for today’s students just as students yesterday benefited from the generosity of others. An interactive campaign website offers alumni and friends opportunities to share stories and photos from their time at Huron, take a trivia quiz, and track the latest campaign results.
“One of the reasons we continue to attract such generous support for Huron,” says Principal Ramona Lumpkin, “is the attention received by our student satisfaction results reported in Maclean’s magazine.
“Huron is a well-kept secret no longer, and for the second year in a row we’re proud of the fact that the college finished first in the country in two of nine categories of student satisfaction: ‘supportive campus environment’ and ‘entire educational experience’ as rated by senior students.
“Donors have confidence in Huron, and they’re supporting the college to keep it the strong and vital place they know for our arts, social science and theology students.”
The campaign’s honorary chair is Darcy McKeough, and honours Barry Grant, former co-chair who passed away in late September.
“Our many volunteers are excited by the enthusiasm they see for this campaign,” adds Lumpkin. “We appreciate their commitment and the generous support of our donors and their belief in the college.”