North Central College announces largest fundraising campaign in school’s 154-year history

North Central College has launched its Brilliant Future Campaign—a seven-year, $150 million drive that is the largest fundraising effort in the College’s 154-year history.

Nearly 1,000 students, alumni, trustees, faculty and staff gathered with local and regional elected officials, business leaders and other dignitaries May 15 at a kickoff celebration in the College’s Residence Hall/Recreation Center.

“The Brilliant Future Campaign builds on the work of our distinguished and brilliant faculty, who are dedicated not only to teaching and research, but to individual mentorship,” President Troy D. Hammond said. “It builds on the brilliance of our students and alumni, who are earning Goldwater, Fulbright, National Science Foundation and other national scholarship awards in increasing numbers. And it builds on the selfless service of students and alumni who make the world a more brilliant place.”

A new Science Center is the essential cornerstone of the Campaign that also will grow the College’s endowment to support student scholarships, excellence in teaching by world-class faculty and create additional academic opportunities for students. The College on May 15 held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new facility, which is scheduled to open in fall 2017.

“The new Science Center will be truly student-centered, with every detail considered with our students in mind,” Hammond said. “It will give students everything they need for collaborative and interdisciplinary learning—and it will set in motion the right-sizing of the entire campus by providing classroom, lab and gathering spaces needed in every discipline.”

North Central will partner with its generous alumni, faculty, staff and other friends to make the College's brilliant future a reality. Donors have already committed $40 million to the campaign. 

Brilliant Future Campaign chairs are Trustees Holly Humphrey ’79, M.D., the Ralph W. Gerald Professor in Medicine and Dean for Medical Education at The University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine; and Jeffrey Swallow ’94, Ph.D., chairman and CEO of Aurora-based Magnetrol International, Inc.

“I stepped forward so that the promising start that North Central College began more than 150 years ago can provide the foundation for the brilliant future that lies ahead,” Humphrey said.

Facility improvements account for $85 million of the $150 million Brilliant Future Campaign. In addition to the $60 million Science Center, an estimated $10 million will fund renovations to convert the Kroehler Science Center into a new home for business and entrepreneurship programs. Another $15 million would be raised to pay for a new dining hall and student center and other improvements.

Additionally, the Brilliant Future Campaign seeks to raise $65 million for academic programs and the College’s endowment. For academics, $15 million would be raised for named programs, $10 million would be raised for the North Central College Fund, and $5 million would support other academic and cocurricular programs.

Of the $35 million earmarked for the College’s endowment, $15 million would support professorships and endowed chairs, $15 million would support student scholarships, and $5 million would be used for other academic programs and unrestricted gifts.

The success of the Brilliant Future Campaign will enhance North Central College’s vital contributions to Naperville, the Chicago region, nationally and internationally for generations to come.

“This Campaign is our opportunity to shine brilliantly, to make a profound difference in the lives of our students and the future of our region and our nation,” Hammond said.