To Our University Community and Friends,

For generations, Shenandoah has been a beacon—a place where minds are ignited, where discovery illuminates the path forward, and where leaders are forged. We have always been defined by our collective light and our unwavering belief in education’s profound power to transform lives.

When I first arrived on campus in 2001, I was captivated by a community that believed in the limitless potential of its students and the audacity of its dreams. Today, while that spirit is more vibrant than ever, we stand at a pivotal moment. The world needs the talent, innovation, and compassion nurtured within these classrooms, labs and stages more than ever before. It is not merely our responsibility to uphold Shenandoah’s legacy but to boldly build upon it, ensuring a more radiant future for the next generation of thinkers, creators, and leaders.

Shine: The Shenandoah University Sesquicentennial Campaign is more than a fundraising goal; it is a call to action for every member of our community to invest in the promise of a brilliant future. Through Shine, we are celebrating our rich 150-year history while simultaneously building the foundation for the next 150 years of excellence. It’s about empowering our students, supporting our faculty, embracing our local communities and enhancing the resources that make Shenandoah University a truly special place.

To mark this threshold moment, we will focus on the heart of our mission: our people and their potential. We believe every Shenandoah student deserves the opportunity to access an extraordinary education that opens minds, hearts and career pathways. Through this Shine campaign, we will reaffirm this promise by expanding scholarship opportunities and creating robust career pathways that turn passions into professions. This commitment extends to our faculty and staff, as we seek to attract and retain brilliant educators through endowed professorships, empowering them to deliver the dynamic – and relevant – educational experiences that define our university.

Exceptional environments inspire innovation. That is why we transformed the former National Guard armory into the Hazel-Pruitt Armory, now the home of the Hub for Innovators, Veterans, and Entrepreneurs (HIVE). This bold reimagining reflects Shenandoah’s spirit: honoring our history while creating spaces that drive discovery and opportunity. Building on this momentum, we now envision a state-of-the-art Center for the Arts & Performance Hall worthy of the conservatory that has been our artistic soul, as well as an enhanced Wilkins Athletics and Events Center that will serve both our students and the wider community. Together with expanded global learning opportunities, these inspired spaces will attract audiences, fans, and students from afar, and provide places where Shenandoah students can thrive, learn, and innovate.

From record-breaking enrollment to news-making alumni success, Shenandoah is on the move and stronger than it has ever been! This is our collective moment to celebrate the past and to forge a future that radiates with possibility. Every single gift, at every level, is a vote of confidence in our students, our faculty, and our shared mission. The same bold spirit that inspired Reverend Funkhouser to gather 11 students in a two-room log cabin in 1875, the same spirit that moved our campus from Dayton to Winchester in 1960, now calls on us to secure its future. The visionary leadership of our community brought us to this moment, and that same spirit will carry us forward.

Join us. Together, let’s ensure that Shenandoah shines more brightly than ever before.

With deepest gratitude,