OPPORTUNITY
STARTS HERE

A Campaign for Keene State College

Though what we teach in our classrooms is evolving every day, we have always known exactly who we are. Keene State College has existed to change lives for the better: those of our students and those of the people they impact after graduation.

Student Access

Strategic Pillar:
Building an Inclusive Community

Whether a student is the first in their family to go to college, or a multigenerational Owl, Keene State is where opportunity starts.

And the opportunity for these students to learn from one another is transformative. It is key to Keene State’s commitment to preparing students to think critically and creatively, to engage in active citizenship, and to pursue meaningful work.

Priority areas include:

• Scholarship and Awards – to make a Keene State education accessible to all qualified students

• The KSC Fund – unrestricted support that directly benefits students

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Program, Faculty,
& Staff Development

Strategic Pillar: Elevate Academics and Institutional Reputation

Keene State exists because of its people and the programs they build. From a financial aid counselor to a sustainability studies professor, faculty and staff bring KSC’s mission to life: to shape today’s students into tomorrow’s leaders.

And the programs that KSC’s people bring to life are what makes the College special. From the Cohen Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies to our soccer teams, our programs are what make us, us.

Opportunity Starts Here: A Campaign for Keene State will play to our strengths, supporting and enhancing the people and programs that make up the core Keene State College experience.

• Program and Curriculum Development – including expansion of micro credentialing, certification programs and graduate programs

• Faculty and Staff Professional Development – including conferences, symposiums, and guest speakers

• Endowed Faculty Chairs and Professorships – to create esteemed positions and boost recruitment

• Technology – to enhance our teaching and operational capabilities

• Athletics – boosting a key recruitment tool and mark of distinction

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High-Impact Learning

Strategic Pillar: Pathways to Degree and Career

Truly transformative educational experiences so often happen when classroom learning meets the outside world. It is there that students can see the opportunity the world can offer them—and what they can offer the world.

With its unique blend of liberal arts and career preparation, Keene State’s mission has always been about translating an education into real-world impact. High-impact learning is therefore a key component of Opportunity Starts Here: A Campaign for Keene State. From internships to study away, this investment will create the margin of excellence for our students to realize their full potential.

• Internship Funding – to allow more of our students to participate in these critical experiences and bolster our industry partnership

• Experiential Learning – including travel opportunities

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funding the vision

Opportunity Starts Here: A Campaign for Keene State seeks to raise $20 million to support the impact areas that will build our vision. Ten million dollars of this goal will be in support of our endowment—a key component of long-term fiscal health and sustainability as outlined in our strategic plan.

$7.5 Million

Student Access

$10 Million

Program, Faculty, & Staff Development

$2.5 Million

High Impact Learning

$20 Million

Total

IN THEIR
OWN WORDS

Student and Donor Reflections

About

OPPORTUNITY STARTS HERE
A Campaign for Keene State

Opportunity Starts Here: A Campaign for Keene State brings our community-built strategic plan to life, and will help to shape opportunities for our students to go forth and better our world, for decades to come.

Our landmark campaign focuses on three key areas:

  • Student Access
  • Program, Faculty, and Staff Development
  • High-Impact Learning

These three key areas will break down barriers to access a life-changing Keene State College education for a broader range of students; will build a core education—taught by the best instructors—that will enhance Keene’s unique mission, and will create transformative academic and co-curricular experiences for students to learn about how they can make an impact in the broader world.

And these areas support and represent the pillars of our strategic plan: to build an inclusive community; to elevate academics and institutional reputation; and to forge innovative pathways to degree and career.

Please join us in transforming the lives of our students and the world they will go out and impact.

Stories

Keene Endowment Association 

GIFTS WITH A LASTING IMPACt

At Keene State, making an endowed gift is one of the most powerful ways to create a lasting impact. Endowment gifts support students, faculty, and programs—driving progress for centuries to come. Gifts made through the Keene Endowment Association (KEA) can be directed towards an area that is meaningful to the donor, and gifts of a certain size can be named to honor a family member or loved one.

Alumni Erin Black ’98 and Betsy ’67 and Bob ’68 Coll attended KSC decades apart, but they share an important commonality: they could not have anticipated the impact Keene State would have on their lives and careers. Recently, Black and the Colls have each established endowments to ensure future Owls can have the same life-changing opportunities at Keene that they did.

Impacting a Growing Field – Erin Black ’98

Being on campus again and seeing the quality of the students and academic curriculum filled Erin with pride for her alma mater and was the catalyst for establishing the Erin Walker Black Scholarship. The scholarship will benefit students enrolled in Keene’s Safety and Occupational Health Applied Sciences Program each and every year in perpetuity.

Leaving a Lasting Legacy – Betsy ’67 and Bob ’68 Coll

Betsy and Bob found career paths, and each other, at Keene State and are among the College’s most influential alumni. 

The Colls recently established the Betsy ’67 and Bob ’68 Coll Scholarship Fund to ensure that the next generation of Owls can come to Keene State and find all the things they did: thriving careers; long lasting friendships; and, if you are truly lucky, long-lasting love.

Contact Info

229 Main St., Keene, NH 03435-2701. | Marilyn.Shriver@keene.edu | 603-358-2371.

Copyright Keene State College 2023