December 12, 2011

Contact:   Stacey Schmeidel, 704/894-2798

At Davidson, Annual Fund participation has always been important. This year, it's worth millions.

For the last nine years in a row, Davidson has been one of only a handful of colleges to receive gifts from more than 60 percent of the college's alumni. This year, a group of four current and former trustees have issued a challenge to Davidson alumni: If the college achieves 60 percent Annual Fund participation for the tenth year in a row, the trustee donors will give $1 million to this year's Annual Fund.

The four current and former trustee donors, who wish to remain anonymous, hope to inspire Davidson alumni to continue the remarkable record of support that has distinguished the college nationally. "It's not an accident that Davidson is one of the best schools in the country," said one of the trustees behind the Million/Ten/Sixty Challenge. "Davidson's dedication to excellence in academics and in Division I athletics, our longstanding commitment to attracting and enrolling the best students regardless of financial need, and our legacy of leadership and service-these have been strengthened by the extraordinary generosity of our many donors. Our alumni ensure Davidson's excellence, year after year. We're making this investment now because we want to ensure that our alumni will do that again, for the tenth year in a row."

Davidson College President Carol Quillen welcomed the challenge. "The loyalty of Davidson's alumni, as evidenced by the extraordinarily high rate of participation in the Annual Fund, is one of the things that consistently impresses people about Davidson," she said. "Gifts to the college are always important--but this year, because of this challenge, they matter more than ever. I am confident that our alumni will rise to this challenge with the same leadership and generosity of spirit that they bring every day to their jobs, their families, and their work in their communities."

Davidson is one of three colleges and universities that last year achieved 60 percent participation in the Annual Fund. Only nine colleges and universities in the nation last year achieved annual fund participation rates above 50 percent.

Davidson is a highly selective independent liberal arts college for 1,900 students located 20 minutes north of Charlotte in Davidson, N.C. Since its establishment in 1837 by Presbyterians, the college has graduated 23 Rhodes Scholars and is consistently regarded as one of the top liberal arts colleges in the country. Through The Davidson Trust, the college became the first liberal arts institution in the nation to replace loans with grants in all financial aid packages, giving all students the opportunity to graduate debt-free. Davidson competes in NCAA athletics at the Division I level, and a longstanding Honor Code is central to student life at the college.

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