Marietta College has received a $55 million commitment from Joe and Linda Chlapaty, the largest single gift in the college’s nearly 200-year history, President Kathleen Poorman Dougherty announced during her State of the College address on October 16.
The commitment will fund construction of a new graduate health sciences building and comprehensive renovations to Marietta Hall and to Elsie Newton and Mary Beach Halls, the residence halls where many Marietta students spend their first year on campus in the Ohio River town.
Joe Chlapaty served as a college trustee, and the couple’s connection to Marietta began through their son, who graduated from the college in 1997. The college said the gift places Marietta among a small group of liberal arts colleges nationally to receive a philanthropic investment at this scale.
“Joe and Linda’s commitment fundamentally changes what is possible for Marietta College,” Dougherty said. “It allows us to move boldly toward a future that expands opportunities for students, strengthens our connection to the region and reflects the enduring promise of a Marietta education.”
The announcement doubled as the public launch of The Campaign for Marietta College: More History to Make, the college’s new capital campaign in support of its strategic plan. College leaders said the Chlapaty gift moves two priorities central to that plan from vision to reality.
For students, the most visible change will be in first-year housing. The renovation plan described by the college includes work across the three halls, which opened between 1957 and 1965, and a new building connecting Elsie Newton and Mary Beach, turning the halls into a single first-year quad designed to help new students settle in quickly.
The graduate health sciences building, meanwhile, points the college toward health programs with strong regional demand, in a part of Ohio where hospitals and clinics are a major source of professional employment for graduates who want to stay in Southeast Ohio.
College officials are presenting the gift as an invitation as well as a milestone: an expression of belief, in Dougherty’s words, that they hope inspires alumni, parents and friends across the region to take part in the campaign as planning for the new building and the hall renovations moves forward.
Photo: w_lemay, CC BY-SA