Penn State’s President Proposes Shorter Fundraising Campaign

In the “you-have-to-keep-raking-it-in” world of college fundraising, the time between capital campaigns has shrunk and the duration of those drives—with their increasingly ambitious dollar totals—has grown.

But Friday, as Penn State University president Eric Barron shared with trustees his thoughts on a planned new capital campaign expected to launch next summer, he proposed an alternative.

What if Penn State were to send a message about the priority it places on matters from food safety and global learning to student access and affordability by shortening the window of time in which it raises funds to support those goals?