²ÝÁñÉçÇø

Four hundred Western Washington University faculty, staff, students and special guests were on hand to hear ²ÝÁñÉçÇø President Bruce Shepard officially launch the $60 million fundraising campaign, the largest in the history of the university, on Friday, Oct. 24.

Two Seattle-based events, a business forum meeting on Nov. 6 and gala dinner on Nov. 7, will take the campaign fully public.

At the party on campus, guests entered a raffle to win great prizes. Winners were:

• Benjamin Morgan [Student] - $25 ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Bookstore Gift Card
• Carl Smith [Student] - $25 Woods Coffee Gift Card
• Jianying Zhang [Faculty] - $25 Viking Dollar Gift Certificate
• Ani Harriso [Student] - $25 ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Bookstore Gift Card
• Kathryn Boyd [Staff] – Erin Baker’s Wholesome Baked Goods Gift Basket
• Allison Long [Student] - $25 Viking Dollar Gift Certificate

One of the the favorite Philanthropy Week activities was showing gratitude to ²ÝÁñÉçÇø donors, particularly to faculty and staff who give back. These three students took time out of their busy week to write a thank you note to a ²ÝÁñÉçÇø donor during Philanthropy Week, were entered into a drawing and won:

• Abbi Milner: $125 to bookstore
• Micah Rubart: $125 to bookstore
• Jessica Evans: Viking goodie bag (assorted ²ÝÁñÉçÇø items)

The goal of the transformative $60 million Western Stands for Washington campaign – a multi-year, fundraising effort that is already impacting Western students, faculty and programs alike – is to affirm Western as one of Washington’s top universities, while extending its reach regionally and internationally.

At this stage, 60 percent of the $60 million target has already been reached – the running total recently passed more than $48 million – and the ongoing fundraising success encompasses an impressive range of alumni, faculty and community-generated philanthropy.

Contributions reflect the breadth and depth of what Western offers to its students, faculty and wider community as a diverse, dynamic public university. These include: a $1 million cash gift in support of Western’s new Institute for Energy Studies; a six-figure gift that has already established a Western-based international center for entrepreneurship; a multi-million dollar estate gift that will benefit, among others, the music, economics and biology departments; and a $1.5 million bequest for pre-med students.

The Western Stands for Washington campaign is being directed by the Western Washington University Foundation.

To find out more about the campaign, please visit the campaign website at ²ÝÁñÉçÇø4WA.org. The campaign is also on and ; check those sites for more information as the campaign progresses.