Jacksonville University announced the successful completion of its “FUTURE. MADE.” campaign, surpassing the $175 million goal with the largest fundraising effort in the university’s history.
A gift from Lee and Becky Nimnicht carried the campaign across the finish line four years ahead of its original timeline, the university said in a May 19 news release.
With the original goal met, JU has increased the goal to $250 million to expand scholarship access for students with demonstrated financial needs. The campaign is now called “FUTURE. RISING.”
The campaign’s primary initiative, “Scholars of Distinction,” is designed to provide need-based scholarships to students who demonstrate both financial need and the potential to succeed.
JU currently provides more than $67 million in scholarships and grants annually. The fundraising campaign aims to expand that investment significantly.
“Reaching $175 million is the most significant fundraising achievement in Jacksonville University’s history, and it belongs to every person who believed in what this place could become. FUTURE. RISING. is our commitment to what comes next, to ensuring that the students who follow have every opportunity to rise, lead and continue to strengthen the region with workforce-ready, global citizens,” JU President Tim Cost said in the release.
“Scholarships are an investment in our students and our future. When a student feels seen, valued and supported, there is no limit to what they can achieve,” Lisa Sutherland, incoming interim president of JU, said in the release.
Cost will become chancellor of Jacksonville University on July 1. Sutherland, founding executive director of the Cost Honors College and interim dean of the Davis College of Business and Technology, will be interim president.
Lee Nimnicht, a 1990 JU graduate, is among the university’s most dedicated advocates, school officials have said. In addition to Nimnicht serving a second term on the JU board of trustees, his mother, Anne, and his father, Billy, also served on the board.
The Nimnicht name is woven throughout campus, including Billy Nimnicht Jr. Court inside Swisher Gymnasium, Nimnicht Fitness Center and the Nimnicht Family Scholarships.
Nimnicht’s son, Lee Nimnicht Jr., is a current JU student and graduate assistant in the athletics department.