Daemen University is launching a campaign to raise $40 million over the next five years to help with infrastructure improvements and elevating its academic offerings.
Gary A. Olson, the university’s president, announced the campaign, called Moving Forward: The Campaign for Daemen’s Future, during Daemen’s annual scholarship gala on Friday.
It’s the second fundraising campaign the professional health sciences and liberal arts university has started since 2017. That first-ever campaign raised $26.5 million, exceeding Daemen’s fundraising goal by $4.5 million.
“Our donors trust that Daemen’s future and sustainability are worth their investment,” Olson said. “Many have already stepped up to help us invest in the campus of the future, and I look forward to collaborating with them to continue to raise the academic bar and create the most promising future for our students.”
Olson and his wife, Lynn Worsham, continue to lead the way in the university’s fundraising effort. They have already pledged a $1 million donation to the university for the campaign. It’s their second million-dollar gift to the university.
“We both are thoroughly dedicated to Daemen, our students, and our faculty and staff, and we couldn’t think of a more deserving organization than this wonderful university,” Olson said.
Leading the campaign will be one of Western New York’s most impactful philanthropists in Scott Bieler, president and CEO of West Herr Automotive Group. He will serve as co-chair with fellow Daemen trustee John R. Yurtchuk, chairman of Genesis Development and Construction.
Last September, Tom Golisano gave the university $5 million in the fall that will go toward scholarships and programming at a new school focused on leadership and social impact and the redesign of campus classroom space.
In recognition of the gift, Daemen named a new business school it opened in the spring the Golisano School of Health & Human Sciences. It is part of the College of Health, Human Sciences, and Business. There are two schools within this college, the other is the Alfiero School of Business.
Golisano, the founder of Paychex, is an entrepreneur, philanthropist and the former owner of the Sabres, who donated $360 million to 82 nonprofit organizations in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse last fall.
Daemen University, which has campuses in Amherst and Brooklyn, has a total enrollment of 2,540 students, including 1,653 undergraduates and 887 graduates, as of fall 2024.
The university says it is growing its student base, despite declining enrollment trends and demographic challenges affecting some institutions.
It is projecting a 13% increase in enrollment for first-year students this fall and also expects a significant increase from last year in new transfer students and graduate student enrollment.
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Michael Petro
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