University announces $10 million lead gift to create The Queally Center for Admission and Career Services

A $10 million lead gift by alumni Paul and Anne-Marie Queally, bolstered by multiple leadership gifts from others, has helped University of Richmond raise more than $12 million that the university plans to use toward a new center for admission and career services, a key component of its Fulfilling the Promise fundraising campaign. The campaign, which launched in February, is focused on completing specific initiatives of the university’s strategic plan, The Richmond Promise.

A number of other leadership donors, many who reside in the Richmond area and all of whom are alumni, parents and friends, are also supporting the campaign. Leadership donors who reside in Richmond include Anne S. and R. Lewis Boggs, Jane B. and Austin Brockenbrough III, Jacquelyn K. Brooks, Carolee D. and Frederick H. Hall, Wanda J. and Allen B. King, Susan G. and G. Robert Quisenberry and Camilla B. and Philip S. Rohrbach. Other leadership donors from across the United States include Susan J. and J. Thomas Bradley Jr., Holly B. and Timothy W. Finchem, Melanie L. Healey, Susan M. and John E. Humphreville, Kimberly B. and James A. Jessee, Nancy M. Palermo and Patricia L. and Phillip H. Rowland. The new center, which will be named The Queally Center for Admission and Career Services, will create an impressive sense of place for prospective students, their families and employer representatives. The center will bring together the offices of admission, financial aid and employer development under one roof.

Queally, a university trustee and co-president of the investment firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, said, “Combining admission and career development services in the same building represents the beginning and end of our students’ journey.”

The Queallys, both 1986 Phi Beta Kappa graduates of the university who live in New Canaan, Conn., have given strong support to the campaign, with total giving to date of nearly $20 million. In addition to their current gift, in 2007 they made the lead gift to launch the construction of Queally Hall, a 33,000-square-foot addition to the Robins School of Business.

Intended to be a clearly defined first stop for campus visitors, the center for admission and career services will be a manifestation of the university’s commitment to attracting top students, ensuring Richmond is financially accessible to them, and positioning them to launch successful careers. The center will reinforce the academic excellence and quality of student life at the university and highlight the preparation students receive for life after graduation. The project will be an integral part of the new main entrance to the campus from River Road, a route showcasing a campus routinely noted among the country’s most beautiful for its architecture and landscape.

These leadership gifts bring the university’s Fulfilling the Promise campaign to $137 million of its $150 million goal. To date, more than 18,000 commitments have been made to the campaign, including 23 of $1 million or more, twelve from first-time donors at this level.

“I am grateful for the gift from Paul and Anne-Marie Queally. Their gift, along with the generous contributions from our other supporters, will enable us to complete the initiatives outlined in our university’s strategic plan, and provide our students with even more access to the full range of opportunities a Richmond education offers,” said Edward L. Ayers, President, University of Richmond.

Campaign priorities include funding the center for admission and career services, additional funding for the UR Summer Fellowships program to support student internships and research experiences, additional endowment funding for scholarships, and increased undergraduate alumni participation in philanthropy to the university.

Many leadership donors have chosen to give to the UR Summer Fellowships fund with gifts totaling more than $9 million, including Jane B. and Austin Brockenbrough III, Alice A. and Robert S. Jepson Jr., Wendy F. and Bruce E. Mosler, Jean F. and David B. Patteson, Rodney P. and Fred T. Tattersall, Ellen F. and Gregory S. Rogowski, Patricia L. and Phillip H. Rowland, Megan T. and Kevin J. Scotto, Leanne P. and Michael S. Segal and Suzanne F. and William G. Thomas, as well as other generous supporters. UR Summer Fellowships provide full-time undergraduate students with access to a stipend to pursue an internship or undergraduate research experience, either domestically or abroad. Faculty-mentored research experiences provide students with laboratory, field or archival experience that enables them to compete for admission to top graduate programs. Summer internships enable students to apply what they have learned in a new setting and gain traction in the professional world.

Through the UR Summer Fellowships program, the university awards more than 250 fellowships of up to $4,000 to students each summer. In the summer of 2013, the university awarded a total of $1 million. The program reinforces the university's commitment to accessibility and affordability by ensuring that all students have the opportunity to enhance their educational experience and build upon classroom learning through research with faculty or internship work experience that they might not otherwise be able to pursue.

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