Colgate University has surpassed $750 million toward its $1 billion Campaign for the Third Century goal. The announcement comes as the University continues to pursue a series of priorities outlined in the Third-Century Plan, drawing on record-breaking levels of philanthropy to advance a long-term vision for Colgate’s success.
Before a welcoming crowd in Colgate Memorial Chapel on Friday evening, April 14, ballerina Misty Copeland talked about the challenges that come with being first.
Colgate University has raised more than $40 million in the first half of the 2022–2023 fiscal year. With these new gifts, the total raised during the Campaign for the Third Century now stands at $476 million — nearly half of the historic $1 billion goal.
“I am profoundly grateful for the generosity of Colgate’s alumni, parents, and friends,” says President Brian W. Casey. “The Third-Century vision is clear, our plan is ambitious, and our community has joined the effort with remarkable support.”
Colgate University recently welcomed music producer, DJ, and multimedia storyteller Bobby Carter as its 2026 Clifford Family Innovator in Residence. Carter is the host and producer of NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Concerts, the series that features performances from both well-known and emerging artists behind an office desk at NPR’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
As of Dec. 31, 2025, Colgate University has raised more than $5.9 million for the Colgate Fund. This milestone places the University more than halfway toward its $10.4 million goal for the 2026 fiscal year (Jul. 1, 2025–Jun. 30, 2026), ensuring robust support for the unrestricted-use funding that impacts every student and program on campus.
This achievement was driven by the successful conclusion of the Colgate Year-End Challenge. The challenge, which ran from Dec. 16–31, mobilized the Colgate community to support the University’s liberal arts and sciences tradition.
On Oct. 22, approximately 100 Colgate University alumni and friends made their way to Chicago’s Newberry Library, just across Walton Street from the legendary Bughouse Square — once America’s most celebrated outdoor free speech center. It was a fitting location for what would unfold: a robust discussion between Colgate President Brian W. Casey and Tony Banout, inaugural executive director of the Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression at the University of Chicago and board member of the Heterodox Academy. Their topic was the future of discourse and debate on their respective campuses.
Colgate University’s Campaign for the Third Century closed the 2024–25 fiscal year with strong momentum, adding $143 million in new gifts and commitments and bringing the campaign total to $745 million in support of the University’s priorities.
Colgate University unveiled finalized plans this month for the Carey Center, a modern campus athletic facility that will serve as the new home for Colgate’s Division I athletics teams. Named in honor of Trustee Emeritus Chase Carey ’76, the Carey Center will replace the outdated Reid Athletics Center, bring together multiple athletic functions into one building, and offer new spaces for performance, training, athletic administration offices, and community gathering.
Colgate University welcomed Clifford Family Innovator in Residence David Kelley to campus, April 8–10, 2025.
The Donald W. Whittier Professor in mechanical engineering at Stanford University, Kelley serves as faculty director of Stanford’s interdisciplinary d.school, which is dedicated to helping students develop their creative capacity. He is a co-founder of the Silicon Valley design and consulting firm IDEO and co-author of the book Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All.