Gift triples Gordon's endowment
Gordon College's endowment fund, boosted by a $60 million gift from a California couple, is poised to nearly triple in value, ensuring long-term financial stability for the Christian liberal arts college.
"This is an extraordinary gift, one that will help strengthen our educational experience for years to come," said college president R. Judson Carlberg. "We hope it encourages and motivates others to donate."
The gift from Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler, whose two grandchildren attend Gordon, is the largest gift in the college's 118-year history. The money will be paid from the Fowlers' estate, after the couple's death. The college's endowment now is $33 million.
Gordon honored the Fowlers by naming its 450-acre campus for the couple last week on the first day of the fall semester.
"It is significant today that we gather as a community to add the Fowler name to the legacy of Gordon College," Carlberg said during a ceremony unveiling a new sign at the college's main entrance on Grapevine Road.
The new name - The Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Campus at Gordon College - sits well with some students.
"Now the campus has a name, instead of calling it 'main campus' like every other college does," said Megan Thompson, 21, a senior from Philadelphia who is the vice president of the college's Student Association. "I'm excited that Gordon is recognizing them."
Dale Fowler, 70, said he hopes the gift strengthens Gordon's Christian mission.
"Making a concrete difference in the lives of students and faculty members should be the basis for giving to Christian higher education," he said, addressing faculty and students in the college chapel. "May the classrooms on this campus . . . be occupied by students and faculty that daily call upon the Lord for wisdom."
Gordon, which has about 1,500 students, recently was named one of the nation's top 248 liberal arts colleges by US News & World Report. The college grants bachelor's degrees in 36 majors. Tuition, room, and board this year totals $30,600. Other major donors include Ken Olsen, the founder of Digital Equipment Corp. and a former trustee. A $5 million gift from The Stratford Foundation, a charitable trust backed by Olsen, provided seed money for the new $30 million Ken Olsen Science Center being built on campus.
In recent years, Gordon has expanded its reach. A new dormitory opened last year in Lynn as part of an urban education program. The college also has a campus in Boston, where it was founded in 1889 as a missionary training school. The college moved to an estate in Wenham in 1955.
Fowler, a California native, earned a fortune developing and investing in commercial and industrial properties in Southern California. He is now semiretired, with his son and a son-in-law running the business, he said.
The Fowlers, who have a summer home in the Berkshires, first discovered Gordon through a friend in California whose son taught there. They made a $10,000 donation several years ago, one of many to Christian schools and churches. But their interest in Gordon grew after a college official paid them a visit.
"Of all the donations that we made, they were the only ones who came to see us," Dale Fowler said, walking across the sun-splashed campus.
When he became president 16 years ago, Carlberg set a goal to grow the endowment to $100 million. The college's current $33 million endowment is funded mostly by large gifts from private donors and alumni. Prior to the Fowlers' gift, the college's largest donation was $6 million.
"My wife and I had been praying for a major gift to the endowment, to get it to $100 million. Lo and behold, the prayer was almost totally answered."
An endowment fund is critical to a college's finances. It is one of three main sources of revenue, along with tuition and public grants. Investment income from an endowment is used to provide scholarships, and pay for faculty and other expenses. Income from the Fowlers' gift will be used for that, plus new programs and capital construction, officials said.
"There is no one specific project," said Dan Tymann, an executive vice president for advancement at Gordon.
Prior to the $60 million gift, the Fowlers donated about $1 million for bleachers at the athletic complex, and to renovate Frost Hall, the administration building. New paint, lights, marble floor, artwork, and antiques grace the first floor. "It was very dark," said Sarah Ann Fowler, 66, who helped pick colors and fixtures.
The couple also has committed $4.5 million for a new administration building to be called the Fowler Center, and possibly a dormitory. They also have agreed to fund salary and living expenses for a staff member to live in California to recruit students for Gordon.
"We're not through yet," Dale Fowler said. "There's a lot we can do here."
Kathy McCabe can be reached at kmccabe@globe.com.
