Alumni Rise to Challenge in First-Ever Day of Giving

Friday, June 26, 2020
Image shows total amount raised and Flame of the Millennium fountain in the background.

The first-ever Day of Giving fundraising campaign brought more than $320,000 from 450 alumni and friends to support the institute’s greatest needs, student scholarships, campus diversity, and COVID-19 support and relief.

Rose-Hulman alumni and friends have delivered financially for the future of the nationally recognized science and engineering institute by donating more than $320,000 in the first-ever Day of Giving.

The Terre Haute-based STEM college, consistently ranked among the top undergraduate engineering colleges in the country, hosted an online Day of Giving on June 24. A total of 450 alumni and friends answered the call for support and raised a total of $320,590. The daylong event sought funding to address the institute’s greatest financial needs, student scholarships, campus diversity, and COVID-19 support and relief.

“Our alumni have always loved a challenge and they’ve once again shown they believe strongly in our students, the institute and our future,” said Robert A. Coons, institute president. “In this current climate, it’s especially exciting to know our alumni remain committed to ensuring today’s students receive the same benefits they did from a Rose education.”

The Day of Giving included generous matching gifts from several alumni and a generous major contribution from an anonymous alumnus and his family to support the Ted Sweatt Scholarship, which benefits African American students and honors the memory of one of Indiana’s most accomplished athletes.

“Rose alumni are demonstrating their commitment to the diversity of our campus by supporting the Sweatt Scholarship,” said Steve Brady, vice president for institutional advancement. “In a single day, they enhanced the future impact of this scholarship to benefit our students by more than $60,000.”

Ted Sweatt set a state record in the high jump in 1964 as a student at Terre Haute’s former Wiley High School. He later enlisted in the U.S. Army and lost his life while on patrol in Vietnam. He was inducted into the Indiana Track and Field Hall of Fame in 2014 and was named one of Vigo County’s 50 greatest athletes of the 20th Century by the Terre Haute Tribune-Star. The Ted Sweatt Scholarship was established at Rose-Hulman in 2018 by the Sweatt family and an alumnus and friend of the Sweatt family.

After a successful inaugural year, the Day of Giving is now set to become a regular event at Rose-Hulman, said Brady, who noted it will likely be incorporated into an annual celebration of philanthropy already established at the institute, known as Attitude of Gratitude Week.