This year Daemen College reached a significant milestone—the college’s 70th anniversary. To mark this special year, we held the college’s inaugural Founders Celebration, an exciting two-day festival to honor our heritage and the legacy of our founders. Their commitment to higher education endures as we continue a vision of academic excellence that puts our students directly on the path to success.
The celebratory atmosphere on campus throughout the two days of festivities was invigorating. As we kicked off Founders Celebration with the ringing of Founders Bell, it was truly inspiring to see a massive crowd of spectators come together to commemorate our thriving institution and its rich past. The celebration gave us the opportunity to recognize and reflect on the progress we have made over the past seven decades, and the next steps we will take to carry on this positive momentum toward a bright future.
Our inaugural Founders Celebration concluded with a festive 70th Anniversary Gala, where we publicly launched Daemen’s “Drive to 75” campaign, our largest-ever fundraising initiative and the first comprehensive campaign in our 70-year history. At the announcement for this historic campaign, we also shared the exciting news that we had already reached 75 percent of our $22 million goal.
Five years ago when I was inaugurated president, I pledged to help lead Daemen to new levels of national distinction. I am very proud of our progress since then. We compete in many academic areas with the likes of Colgate, Skidmore, and the University of Rochester. This success came at the hands of many—the entire Daemen Family. There is no doubt that the “Drive to 75” campaign has and will continue to transform our beloved college as a national and global leader and change the lives of each of our students. But we still have much to do to continue this exciting momentum.
The “Drive to 75” campaign will expand opportunities for our students and faculty, enrich our academic programs, and enhance our learning spaces and facilities. This campaign is key to making Daemen a stronger institution and will build on our growing national reputation in higher education. You may read more about our “Drive to 75” campaign and Founders Celebration events and activities in this issue of Daemen Today.
Also in this issue you will find our Annual Report, which recognizes all those who have supported our college in 2016–17. Your gifts are making a positive impact on the lives of our students and enabling us to fulfill our goal of providing an outstanding educational experience. I extend my deepest thanks for your belief in and generous support of Daemen.
It is our hope that you will help us to achieve more and enable us to continue our remarkable momentum. We are proud of our legacy. As we celebrate our 70th anniversary, we do so with the clear vision that Daemen’s progress will continue to strengthen our position as a college of national distinction.
With pride in Daemen,
Gary A. Olson
President
