To all members of the Norwich Community

On behalf of the Norwich University Board of Trustees and the Partridge Society, we ask you to pause for a moment and reflect on the state of this great institution. In the past year, Norwich has notched these achievements:

  • We welcomed one of the largest freshman classes in the institution’s history, beginning the academic year with nearly 1,150 students in the Corps of Cadets.

  • We opened the Wise Campus Center, a stunning facility that will serve all Norwich students for many decades.

  • We topped the Norwich Forever! campaign fundraising goal, surpassing the five-year target in only 24 months.

  • Our alumni really stepped up in 2007 and produced a spectacular year for reunion giving. Led by the Classes of 1957 ($3 million), 1952 ($2.5 million) and 1947 ($1.4 million), last year’s reunion classes raised the bar for Norwich by tallying more than $8 million in gifts and pledges. The Class of ’57 notched an exceptional 58 percent participation rate!

Without question, 2007 was a landmark year for Norwich. It was your generosity—you sharing your talent, time, and treasure—that made these accomplishments possible. Thank you for contributing to Norwich’s vitality and growth.

While we celebrate these milestones, we cannot relax. The challenge before us all today is to build on our momentum, so we can expand the learning opportunities for our students and fully realize our shared vision of what Norwich will look like in 2019. It is our responsibility, as stewards of this unique institution, to make our University even stronger and to broaden the Norwich experience—for today’s students and for the students of future generations.

With the success of the Norwich Forever! campaign to date, our University can tackle some initiatives sooner than expected and complete a small number of projects that were temporarily delayed. The Board of Trustees in recent months has approved $6.2 million in new campaign spending, some of it unavoidable due to dramatic cost increases for construction materials in recent years. The Trustees have approved these changes and additional campaign priorities:

  • An additional $2 million for Phase II of the Athletic Complex: This project will provide our sports fans with a much-needed concession area and a larger VIP room, which will house the University’s Hall of Fame. This facility will also give the Athletic Department several new offices and additional locker room space. Due to steep construction inflation in recent years, the projected cost of Phase II has risen from $5 million to $7 million.

  • $1.5 million for the Memorial Plaza: This project, which will improve and beautify the space between the Upper Parade and White Chapel, had originally been part of the Wise Campus Center construction project and related infrastructure upgrades.

  • $700,000 for renovating White Chapel: Norwich will renovate the basement of the chapel to provide storage and practice space for the University Band. Additionally, a portion of the money will be used for deferred maintenance projects in the building.

You will hear more about these initiatives in the coming months. Today, however, please take a moment to consider the positive changes we are already bringing to Norwich, including new facilities, additional scholarship aid, and more opportunities for faculty development.

Members of the Norwich community are investing in the University as never before because of our shared pride and vision for the University’s future. Our Statement of Guiding Values will always remain at the core of what it means to attend Norwich. The changes we are seeing on campus will make Norwich even more robust, more attractive, and more academically rewarding.

In the course of a five-year capital campaign, we talk about money a great deal. We can’t escape it. Ultimately, however, it’s not the number of dollars raised that defines achievement. It is the experience we provide our students that serves as the truest measurement of success. From the beautiful Wise Campus Center to the rapidly growing number of summer research opportunities to the high-profile guest speakers we can now bring to Northfield, we—all of us as members of the Norwich family—are expanding the student life experience at Norwich.

Thank you for making this possible. We are tremendously proud of what Norwich has achieved through this campaign, and we are excited about the future.

Mark D. Thompson
Class of 1979
The Partridge Society

Pierson G. Mapes
Class of 1959
Board of Trustees