Last weekend, DePauw University launched its public capital campaign, The Campaign for DePauw, to raise funds for a slew of programs including building projects, financial aid and faculty development.

The campaign began its private stage in 2012 and raised $200 million through donations from the Board of Trustees and close friends of the university, including a $25 million gift from Dave and Suzanne Hoover, ’67, for the Hoover Dining Hall and need-based scholarships. The last $100 million, hopefully, will be raised during the public phase of the campaign.

This editorial board would like to thank all of the generous alumni who have donated to the campaign so far. We have already begun to see the fruits of the gifts in the recently completed Welch Fitness Center and the beginning construction on Hoover Hall. We know these construction projects are only the beginning.

In “DePauw University launches fundraising campaign for $300 million,” The DePauw quoted University President Brain Casey saying, “Capital projects almost always go first. I’ve never seen a campaign where they didn’t go first.” This editorial board is excited for the campaign to move away from capital projects and toward financial aid and academic funds.

Don’t misunderstand us. We are thankful for the donations to capital projects. We enjoyed watching Welch Fitness Center take shape, and we look forward to watching Hoover Hall sprout. The renovations to Roy O. West library will be a welcome project as well.

But all of these buildings mean nothing if students cannot get the financial aid necessary to come use the facilities. The buildings mean nothing if the faculty and staff inside them do not have the resources they need to provide the high-caliber education DePauw has become known for.

All of us who have attended DePauw know that the experience this university offers sets its students apart. It takes high school seniors who may have never left their state and gives them opportunities to see other countries. It takes students who may have never seen a culture other than their own and exposes them to the multitude of cultures that exist within borders of the U.S. A DePauw University education gives students an understanding of the world and of themselves that cannot be matched anywhere else.

But such an education does not come from the buildings of DePauw. It comes from the people of DePauw. This editorial board cannot wait to see how the gifts to The Campaign for DePauw will enrich the people of the community that has changed our lives. We cannot wait to see how the gifts will enrich the DePauw education for the classes that come after us.   

– Nicole DeCriscio did not contribute to this editorial.