Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013 

UNIVERSITY OF OPPORTUNITY: HOPE AND
HELP COMPREHENSIVE CAMPAIGN

Viterbo celebrates campaign success: $37 million of
$40 million goal raised since 2008. University targets affordability, talent,
and mission, in final push for $3+ million for scholarships. 

LA
CROSSE, Wis.— Since the trustees-approved University
of Opportunity: Hope and Help comprehensive campaign began quietly in
January 2008, $37 million of the $40 million goal has been raised.

It was also announced today, the final campaign push
will primarily target scholarships for students with the intent of keeping Viterbo
affordable for future generations of students.

“The campaign represents one of the most successful
campaigns in the history of the La Crosse community and certainly the largest
at Viterbo,” Rick Artman, president of Viterbo said. “The success of the comprehensive
campaign has strengthened the university in countless ways. Viterbo has truly
been blessed.”

Examples of projects and initiatives funded by the
campaign illustrate the scope of changes that literally transformed the
landscape of Viterbo.

• The state-of-the-art
  School of Nursing Building opened in 2011, and with its cutting-edge simulation
  labs, immediately propelled Viterbo’s strong nursing program to the forefront
  of leaders in health care education.
• Over 150 new
  scholarships were created since 2008—the start date of the comprehensive
  campaign. These scholarships enabled talented and/or students with financial
  need to access a Viterbo education. With the remaining emphasis in the campaign
  focusing on scholarships, this number is expected to grow significantly.
• The Annual
  Trustees Opportunity Fund supported stipends for summer research for aspiring
  chemists, biologists, physicians, social workers, psychologists and others. The
  fund also supported entrepreneurial ventures, and provided seed money for new
  initiatives to advance the university’s reputation and that of its students.
• Space for the
  Dahl School of Business was reconfigured as part of an extensive repurposing
  project within the former Brophy Nursing Center creating ample space for the growing
  MBA program and the school’s other majors and community outreach projects.
• New and
  renovated living facilities to better serve student needs including some
  funding for the new Clare Apartments, Bonaventure, and Marian residences ($10
  million).
• New Weber Center
  for the Performing Arts which was a unique collaboration that brought Viterbo
  theatre to the La Crosse downtown arts district and added another incentive on
  the national scene for high-talent theatre prospects to consider Viterbo’s
  distinctive programs.
• Other signature activities
  benefiting from the success of the campaign include: iPad classroom
  initiatives, Honors Program activities, artist-in-residence programs, admission
  sponsored recruitment “bus trips” from Chicago to Viterbo, and endowed support
  assuring the long term success of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in
  Leadership.

“This campaign,” Artman said, “is aptly called,
University of Opportunity: Hope and Help. The campus is beautiful, our
buildings are attractive, many opportunities exist for student and faculty
research, and we have increased the scholarship support offered to students. In
this final phase, in focusing the campaign almost exclusively on scholarship, we
seek to assure that Viterbo remains affordable for the many generations of
students to come.”