ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN
Through the Reaching New Heights campaign, our community will come together, honoring the past and supporting the future.
At McDaniel College, there are no limits to how high we can reach or how expansive our future can be when we work together as a united community.
That’s why we are pleased to announce Reaching New Heights: The Campaign for McDaniel College, an ambitious, comprehensive fundraising campaign that will help us continue to change lives as we have since our founding as Western Maryland College in 1867.
Together, we will fulfill our vision of excellence within a culture of genuine care — for our students, for our employees, for our alumni, and for our communities both domestically and abroad.
These goals for the Reaching New Heights campaign are bold, and they should be. This is a defining moment for McDaniel. Our students are full of potential, and our aspirations for them — and for the college — should match that promise. ”
President Julia Jasken
Campaign Progress
- $50M Invested 93%
AS OF NOV. 14, 2025
- GOAL: 2,500 New Community Connections 91%
AS OF SEPT. 15, 2025
- GOAL: 500 New Career Connections 69%
AS OF SEPT. 15, 2025
Records Were Made To Be Broken
As we embark on the public phase of the Reaching New Heights campaign, we are eager to build on the momentum of a historic year in the college’s philanthropic efforts.
From June 1, 2024 through May 31, 2025, the McDaniel College community came together to donate more than $23 million, the largest amount of money raised in a single year in the college’s history.
Because of these commitments made by our donors, the college has already raised more than $46.4 million of the $50 million goal with three years remaining in the campaign.
But the Reaching New Heights campaign is about more than money. It’s about community and connections. Every member of the McDaniel College community can make a difference regardless of financial capacity as we strive to forge 2,500 new community connections and create 500 new career connections by May 31, 2028.
Now more than ever, community is at the forefront of McDaniel’s mission, and we know that we can only reach new heights together.
Campaign Goals
$50 MILLION
RAISED
Investments by alumni, families, and friends will facilitate a greater culture of innovation, academic excellence, and community across all areas of campus — both inside and outside of the classroom.
2,500
NEW COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS
We seek to re-engage our community of alumni, parents, and friends throughout the Reaching New Heights campaign by establishing 2,500 new community connections.
500
NEW CAREER CONNECTIONS
We seek to increase the career connections for current McDaniel students by identifying more internship, mentorship, and job opportunities within our community.
ONE COMMUNITY
WITH ONE GOAL.
Our future as an innovative liberal arts college focused on student achievement and professional success lies in us Reaching New Heights — together.
Campaign Priorities
Through Reaching New Heights, McDaniel is investing in the people, programs, and places that define its distinctive liberal arts experience. From innovative academic spaces and inspired faculty to vibrant student life and real-world career connections, each campaign priority strengthens what makes McDaniel extraordinary — and prepares our students to thrive long after they leave the Hill.
CREATING SPACES FOR
ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE
CULTIVATING CAMPUS LIFE
AND COMMUNITY BELONGING
FORMING COMMUNITY
AND CAREER CONNECTIONS
Reaching New Heights Together
As co-chairs of Reaching New Heights: The Campaign for McDaniel College, we are asking you to join us in helping to provide new generations of students with even more opportunities to succeed. The impact we each have when we invest in the college goes far beyond providing a particular building, classroom, or laboratory. These gifts of time and treasure make the entire enterprise possible. Tuition alone cannot provide all the resources needed to deliver a top-quality, accessible education.
Letter from the President
I am thrilled to announce that we have now officially completed the quiet phase of McDaniel College’s Reaching New Heights comprehensive campaign, having surpassed the 80% fundraising mark, raising over $40.6 million toward our total $50 million goal! Thanks to the remarkable generosity of so many, the visible impacts — both on campus and off — are already inspiring.
Turning Vision Into Reality
Join us in shaping the next chapter of academic excellence and community connection for generations to come.