Marian University receives record $6 million donation

Blue and yellow balloons are released on June 27 on the campus of Marian College in Indianapolis to celebrate its name change from Marian College to Marian University. Daniel Elsener, the school’s president, recently announced that it had received a $6 million gift from a former trustee, a record individual gift for Marian. (Photo courtesy of Marian University)

Criterion staff report

The reasons to celebrate continue for Marian University in Indianapolis.

After marking its name change from Marian College to Marian University on July 1, the school also recently received a $6 million gift from a former trustee—which represents the single largest gift ever made to the university from an individual.

“We are, of course, grateful for this gift, which will do much to move the university’s comprehensive fundraising effort to new heights,” explained Marian president Daniel Elsener in a press release from the university.

The donor, who asked to remain anonymous, gave $1 million to the university and pledged to make donations of $500,000 each year for the next 10 years.

“We think it is important to understand that this person, who didn’t experience the university in the same way that our students and graduates do, feels compelled to endorse Marian University’s educational approach,” Elsener noted. “Clearly, our Franciscan values and commitment to a liberal arts education are valued by others and needed by our world.”

The former trustee wanted to make the gift because of the significant strides that Marian University has made in recent years.

Student enrollment has increased from 1,260 students in 2001 to 2,123 students in 2008. The university has also expanded its graduate degree programs, started a football team in 2007, created an EcoLab that serves as an environmental learning laboratory for students, and will begin this year an online accelerated bachelor of science in nursing degree program.

University officials have not announced yet how the $6 million gift will be used by the university, which was founded by the Oldenburg-based Sisters of St. Francis.

With the gift, the university has raised more than $55 million toward its goal of $68.2 million.

(For more information about Marian University in Indianapolis, log on to www.marian.edu.) †