MARIETTA — Marietta College this week surpassed a $100 million goal in its This the Time Comprehensive Campaign, the school announced on Thursday.

The campaign was publicly launched during Homecoming 2021 and Marietta College surpassed the $100 million milestone this week. The campaign will continue through June 30.

“This campaign was the most ambitious and aggressive ever assumed by the College, but our lofty goals were established with the objective of meeting immediate needs and establishing a solid underpinning for the future of Marietta College,” a joint statement issued by campaign co-chairs Don Ritterand Leslie Straub Ritter, alumni.

Because it is a comprehensive campaign, donors had a variety of opportunities to support.

“Our This is The Time Comprehensive Campaign has been phenomenally successful. I am extremely grateful for the generosity of Marietta’s friends, alumni, faculty, staff, students, and parents in helping us exceed our $100 million dollar goal in five short years,” William N. Ruud, president of Marietta College, said. “Their gifts, which will benefit us for generations, show their passion for the College and demonstrate their confidence in Marietta’s current and future opportunities to positively impact our students’ lives.”

Ruud cited the support of the Board of Trustees, Advancement Team, Vice President Josh Jacobs and Leslie and Don Ritter.

Achieving the $100 million goal took 8,357 donors from all 50 states and their gifts were able to endow 18 programs, 41 scholarships and three professorships. Some of the transformative gifts that came from the campaign were the Howsmon-Keyes Experiential Education Endowment Fund, which supports students during their internships, and the Ronald ’72 and Simin Shelton Rinard International Travel Grants Program, which supports students who plan to study abroad.

During the launch at Homecoming, the Ritters and alumni Kevin O’Neill each pledged $1 million toward the new Campus and Community Center. A few weeks later, Peoples Bank announced a $1 million pledge to enhance and facilitate the merger between the Department of Business and Economics and the McDonough Center for Leadership and Business.

With about three weeks before the campaign officially wraps, there are two key projects that the Advancement team will continue to pursue funding for: the student center, which has received $8 million of the $20 million needed to construct; and the Softball Complex renovation, which has gifts and pledges totaling $828,663 toward the $1.1 million needed to complete the project.

The Campaign Steering Committee included Honorary Chairpersons Robert Dyson and Laura Baudo Sillerman and members Barbara Perry Fitzgerald, Michael Salvino, Kevin O’Neill, Charles Sulerzyski, Harry “Hap” Esbenshade III, Jason Rebrook, Ronald Rinard, Dale Wartluft, Ruud, Jo Ellen Diehl Yeary, Paul Zecchi and Patricia Kral Zecchi.

“I am immensely proud to be part of a College family that steps up again and again to show their love and support for one of the best contemporary liberal arts colleges in the country,” Mary Korn, board chair, said.