Carthage College is launching a $100 million fundraising campaign to help broaden its scope beyond the traditional four-year educational model.
Toward that end, the campaign – the public phase of which launched Monday – would help fund the creation of two-year/associate degrees, while at the same time supporting the Kenosha college’s more traditional programs by endowing professorships in the liberal arts and sciences.
Funds would also provide more access to financial aid for tuition, internships, and study abroad at Carthage and innovation to quickly develop new programs and expand current offerings in nursing, pre-health, engineering, business, and other high-demand fields.
On the infrastructure side, dollars would help fund upgrades to the A. F. Siebert Chapel, other facilities and enhance athletics and the arts.
The campaign theme, “Light That Travels,” pays homage to generations of Carthage alumni.
“Our aspiration is to teach more students than ever before, from more backgrounds than ever before, in more fields than ever before, and to provide a stronger preparation for life and career than ever before,” said Carthage president John Swallow.
At a kickoff dinner on campus in late July, officials announced that several donors have made major, multi-year financial commitments toward targeted areas of need. Those include a $5 million pledge from 1980 Carthage graduate and current board chair Jeff Hamar and his wife, Susan, that would fund program innovation. Hamar is the executive chairman, and former president and CEO, of Santa Fe, California-based Galleher LLC, a distributor of flooring and supplies.
Sustained growth
The campaign comes on the heels of several years of sustained growth at the college. Carthage’s first-year undergraduate enrollment rose 6.6% between 2019 and 2022, and this fall’s incoming class is on pace to become the largest in the college’s history.
Compare that to a 6% decline nationwide over the same three-year period, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. The outlook has been equally dark in Wisconsin, where incoming classes at most other colleges and universities have shrunk — dramatically, in some cases.
Snap-on Inc. CEO Nicholas T. Pinchuk, a member of the college’s board of trustees and chair of the campaign, praised Carthage president Swallow for possessing the insight and vision to restore the link between “places of thought” and “places of work.”
“John Swallow is a leader,” Pinchuk said. “He understands what Carthage’s strengths are and how to expand them. He has led Carthage to adapt to the current environment. He has led Carthage to be a growing player in this great region we hold so dear.”
