Ella Kitchens, Features Editor–
On Friday, Oct. 24, Denison kicked off their most ambitious fundraising effort yet with a gala hosted in the Mitchell Recreation and Athletics Center.
The campaign goal is to raise $400 million. During a speech at the gala, President Adam Weinberg announced that they had already secured $240,549,714.
The “What We Can Be” gala started at 5:30 p.m. as attendees walked up a red carpet and filed into the Mitchell lobby. These guests included trustees, donors, and Denison alumni, as well as faculty members and students.
As the attendees, clad in formal attire, mingled in the lobby, the Denison bluegrass band played on the balcony above. At 6 p.m., guests walked through an immersive gallery displaying photos and stories from Denison’s past and present.
At the end of the gallery, the Mitchell fieldhouse, containing an indoor track and tennis courts, had been transformed. Attendees talked and ate dinner at tables throughout the room, large screens displayed “What We Can Be” in all caps, and red and white projections flashed across the floor.
At 7 p.m., the room fell silent. Denison alumni, trustees, and members of the administration gave speeches asking those present to support the university’s future through donations to the “What We Can Be” campaign.
Five priorities shape the campaign: financial aid and scholarships, academic excellence, career success, student life, and alumni connections.
“Financial aid is not just about helping students pay for college. It’s about investing in families,” said Susan Whiting, Vice Chair of the Denison Board of Trustees and alum of the class of 1978.
During Denison’s last campaign, they committed to meeting the full demonstrated financial need of every student. Now the university wants to go further.
“Through this campaign, we’re going to make sure cost is never ever a barrier to a Denison education,” said President Adam Weinberg in one of his speeches. “It’s not that we can go further, we have to go further.”
His statement was met with applause and cheers.
Weinberg told multiple stories about students that thrived at Denison–and so did the other speakers. Some talked about students that have flourished at Denison, but others were students themselves, recounting their own experiences. Videos demonstrating the campaign’s five priorities played in between speeches, also highlighting student experience.
Several of the videos and speeches about the campaign priority of academic excellence mentioned the new Knobel Hall and King Center for Data and Innovation (formerly Doane Hall).
In her speech, Provost Kim Coplin emphasized a holistic approach to data analytics and investment in students’ academic success through the new King Center as a hub for innovation.
Looking at the priorities of career success and alumni connections, speakers pointed to the success of the Knowlton Center, with Denison ranked second in the nation for career services. Denison wants to go further with the “What We Can Be” campaign to strengthen career preparation and alumni engagement.
“At Denison, we don’t just ask students who they are. We ask them who they want to become,” said trustee James Anderson ‘85. “That is what this campaign is all about.”
Throughout the night, performances from multiple groups showcased student talent. These groups included a string trio, a group of musical theater students, all-female a cappella ensemble Ladies Night Out, and a cappella group The Hilltoppers.
Lev Hund ‘27 worked as an usher for this event through his position as an usher with the Vail Series and as a student performer.
“I got to sit at a table and talk to trustees and some of Denison’s coolest alumni,” said Hund. “It was a really cool opportunity.”
At the end of the night, as Ladies Night Out sang the song “Kind and Generous,” red and white balloons dropped from the fieldhouse ceiling. These balloons marked the conclusion of the gala, but only the start of the $400 million “What We Can Be” campaign.