Santa Clara University celebrates completion of $1 billion fundraising campaign

Santa Clara University marked a major milestone Saturday night, announcing the completion of a $1 billion fundraising campaign that university leaders hope will significantly raise the Jesuit school’s national profile and make it more accessible for first-generation students.

Santa Clara President Julie Sullivan said the success of the “Innovating With a Mission” campaign in less than 10 years — and the fact that it had more than 46,000 donors — pointed toward the university’s proven record of success. “People believe in the value proposition of Santa Clara,” she said.

The announcement was made at the 58th annual Golden Circle Theatre Party, which returned to being an in-person gala event for the first time since 2020. John Legend was the headline performer at the Center for the Performing Arts in San Jose, and the Grammy-winning international superstar had a lively opening act as Sullivan was joined by Board of Trustees Chair Larry Sonsini and campaign co-chairs John A. Sobrato and Larry Sonsini to share the impact of the campaign and celebrate the milestone.

Legend — who was introduced by three Bronco soccer legends: Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton and Aly Wagner — had the crowd on their feat with a string of his hits and fantastic covers of  Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” and Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good.” After the show, more than 2,500 guests traveled over to the nearby Signia by Hilton hotel for dinner and more entertainment.

Sonsini said the campaign accomplishes several things the university needs to rise to the next level nationally: improving its infrastructure, increasing accessibility and affordability for students and increasing its endowments.

“Santa Clara really has a mission and that’s to expand the impact of the university,” said Sonsini, who said he is proud UC Berkeley grad but that he was drawn to Santa Clara because of its Jesuit mission and its emphasis on ethics. “We recognize that we’re in the center of innovation, but given where technology is going, I felt that element was a good balance and a necessity.”

If you’ve been to the campus lately, you’d see the physical transformation already has begun, with the addition or renovation of seven buildings including the Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation, the Finn Residence Hall, the Schott Athletic Excellence Center and the Dowd Art and Art History Building.

Perhaps more important, Sullivan said the university raised more than $280 million for new scholarships, and with its LEAD Scholars program is working to bring more first-generation college students succeed. When she thinks about the changing demographics of today’s college age students, she said these steps set up Santa Clara to continue to attract an increasingly diverse student body.

“Santa Clara remains grounded in our Jesuit tradition of educating the whole person — mind, body and soul — and preparing students to create a more just, humane and sustainable world,” Sullivan said. “But we all know the world around us is changing dramatically and that today’s students come to us with far different expectations and skills than prior students.”

Hydeia Wysinger, a psychology and public health double major who expects to graduate in 2025, is one of those students who was the first in her family to attend college. The El Sobrante native said she was excited to be the student speaker at the Golden Circle event, where she talked about her experience as a LEAD Scholar, including getting to move into campus a week early and getting specialized housing and LEAD-specific classes.

“No matter the institution, college is going to be expensive,” she said. “This campaign and having donors who support all aspects of student life — academics and that extracurricular portion and what students do outside of the classroom — is so important.”

The campaign launched in July 2014, but its public phase was announced at Golden Circle in 2019 — when $570 million had been raised. Since then, Santa Clara has had multiple leadership changes in the president’s office, and had to navigate its way through a worldwide pandemic, just like other institutions. There were times, Vice President of University Relations Jim Lyons said, when it looked like they might not make it, but the trustees, alumni and other donors always found ways to step up.

“We had to raise $309,000 every day for nine-and-a-half years,” Sullivan said during Saturday night’s program.

Sullivan came on board in March 2022 as the first woman and the first layperson to sit in the president’s chair in Santa Clara’s 173-year history. She said she feels “blessed and humbled” to oversee the campaign with the ball so close to the goal line.

“It brings sense of humility to really appreciate all that has come before me, the tremendous effort people have put into building this university,” she said.

SAN JOSE CHAMBER GETS GLITZY: The San Jose Chamber of Commerce Inaugural was held Thursday night at the Silicon Valley Capital Club, and if — like me — you’re wondering what that means, it’s an event to ring in the new business year. Nicholas Adams, the chamber’s chairman of the board, said it’s modeled after similarly named events held by other big metro chambers.