Marietta College has received a $55 million commitment to renovate student dorms and build a new graduate health sciences center, the largest single gift in the nearly 200-year history of the Ohio college. The announcement capped the public launch of a new capital campaign and immediately becomes the defining fundraising moment for the small private college on the Ohio River.
President Kathleen Poorman Dougherty announced the pledge during her state of the college address on Friday. The commitment comes from Joe and Linda Chlapaty, whose son graduated from Marietta in 1997. Joe Chlapaty later served as a college trustee, giving the family a connection to the school that spans both a student’s experience and a seat in the boardroom.
The new health sciences facility will include classrooms, laboratories, simulation spaces and collaborative learning environments. The college said the building will allow it to strengthen existing programs and establish new graduate offerings, expanding beyond its traditional undergraduate focus at a time when graduate health programs are a growth area for regional colleges.
A central goal of the health sciences investment is workforce: providing more health-care professionals for rural Ohio and Appalachia, where hospitals and clinics have long struggled to recruit and keep trained staff. Training students in Marietta, supporters argue, makes it more likely they will stay and practice in the region after graduation.
A significant portion of the gift will also go toward renovating the freshman dorms, which were built in the 1950s and 1960s. Housing is often a deciding factor for prospective students comparing colleges, and the college said the renovations will modernize the first-year living experience for the students who form the core of each incoming class.
The Chlapatys’ pledge coincides with the public launch of a new capital campaign for the college that aims to raise $11 million a year for the next five years. Dougherty said the commitment fundamentally changes what is possible for Marietta College, allowing it to move boldly toward a future that expands opportunities for students, strengthens its connection to the region and reflects the enduring promise of a Marietta education — and she called it a powerful expression of belief she hopes inspires the whole community.
Joe Chlapaty said he and Linda believe deeply in Marietta College and the human-centered education it provides, and that they have seen how much the people there care about students, one another and the future of the community. The projects, he said, are about creating the places where relationships will grow, students will discover what they are capable of and lives will be changed — and the couple hopes others will join them in making it possible.
Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA