Create the Future: University Launches Largest Ever Fundraising Campaign

Cheers, dance music, and a cascade of green and orange balloons marked the official unveiling of a $125 million comprehensive fundraising campaign for the University of La Verne in late March.

Create the Future: The Campaign for the University of La Verne will support student scholarships, new facilities, faculty teaching, and other key initiatives that will enable the university to elevate minds and inspire greatness for decades to come.

“This is a historic moment for the University of La Verne,” President Devorah Lieberman said. “Create the Future: The Campaign for the University of La Verne stands as the largest ever launched in our 126 years, and I am proud that we have already surpassed 65 percent of our goal. The tremendous generosity shown by the Leopard community is a testament to contributions the university makes to the lives of students and the community as a whole.”

Lieberman announced the campaign inside the Sheraton Fairplex Hotel and Conference Center in Pomona during the 2018 Scholarship Gala. More than 650 guests, including elected officials, business leaders, alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends gathered for the event.

The university has received more than $83 million in gifts and pledges toward the $125 million goal.

Those gifts and pledges, totaling more than 24,000, have already made a meaningful impact: they have established 30 scholarship funds, supported four new research centers, and funded endowments for three faculty chairs.

They include an unprecedented $10 million gift from Anthony “Tony” LaFetra to name the LaFetra College of Education, as well as a generous donation from Art and Sarah Ludwick ’94 to support the construction of the new Ludwick Center for Spirituality, Cultural Understanding, and Community Engagement.

“This campaign will have a lasting impact on the lives of students,” Board of Trustees President Luis Faura said. “And that impact extends globally, as our more than 80,000 alumni are out in the world serving others and solving issues on local, national, and international levels.”

Priorities for Create the Future include student scholarships, attracting and retaining distinct faculty, educating students to become compassionate citizens, providing quality learning experiences that extend beyond the classroom, and expanding modern facilities, technology, and learning methods.

The university raised $914,000 for student scholarships during the gala, an amount that surpassed all previous 
gala events.

“The heart of this community is our students,” Lieberman said. “They are the reason we are all here tonight. They are the reason our faculty members choose to teach at the University La Verne, why our staff members choose to provide support services, and why all of you choose to be a part of the University of La Verne.”

Create the Future for a new generation of University of La Verne students at test-createthefuture.laverne.edu