Randolph College ended the 2023-24 fiscal year with its highest fundraising total since 2019.
Nearly $9.4 million was raised for all funds, with over $1.8 million of that total supporting the Annual Fund for the College’s greatest needs.
The generosity of the College’s donors provided funding for student scholarships, capital improvements, mental health resources, and new graduate programs.
“Randolph College is fortunate to have so many alumnae and alumni who support our students, programs, and campus needs each year,” said Farah Marks, vice president for institutional advancement. “Thanks to their generosity, the College has been able to provide generous scholarships, add additional programs, and significantly improve our facilities. This has been an amazing year for the College, and we look forward to even more exciting happenings to come.”
Support for the sciences was strong for this fiscal year. The Martin Science Building renovation received more than $2 million in gifts and pledges, buoyed by a $250,000 1:1 matching challenge from the Mary Morton Parsons Foundation, and $225,000 in match funds from two anonymous alumnae.
Other notable leadership gifts for the renovation came from two anonymous former trustees (a total of $400,000), and $550,000 was committed to name the organic chemistry lab from trustee emerita Elizabeth A. Grimm ’71, PhD, Professor Emerita, Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology Research, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Additional science gifts include $50,000 from trustee emerita Randall Johnson Watts ’77 and John A. Watts, Jr. and $60,000 from Mary Scully Riley ’68.
Kay Holly Alvelda ’67 also made a significant additional gift for the Phillip Edward Alvelda Memorial STEM Scholarship Fund.
In addition, the National Science Foundation provided nearly $300,000 in ongoing grant support for STEM initiatives at Randolph.
The College’s new robotics and mechatronics engineering program, which will begin this fall, is partially funded by a GO Virginia state grant of $340,000. The highly competitive funding process required Randolph faculty and staff to work closely with government entities and businesses to secure several partnership agreements and letters of support.
Randolph also received significant support from the estates of nine individuals—the highest amount of bequests since 2016.
Generous bequests came from the estates of Ann S. Harrod of Charlottesville, VA, ($1,750,000) and Betty J. Rudasill of Richmond, VA ($1,159,286), friends of the College, and an anonymous alumna of the 1940s of Birmingham, AL ($502,500).
Other notable gifts included: