A Message from John C. Warren ’74 and Bill Burgess ’77
Dear St. Marker,
As we celebrate the completion of the historic Lives of Consequence campaign, the largest fundraising initiative in the School’s history, we must take a moment to reflect on what we have accomplished together and express our appreciation for the generosity of our philanthropic partners who helped make our bold vision a reality.
Over the course of the campaign, significant facilities upgrades have transformed the St. Mark’s campus. Highlights include the Burgess Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning, the STEM Center, the new Alice Yin Hung ’86 East Gallery, and Patterson-Sculley House, the new 150-bed residence hall that reunites the entire St. Mark’s community on the main campus. Athletic spaces were also enhanced with the addition of the Sargent Family Turf Field and the T. Jefferson Coolidge Jr. ’50 Athletic Performance and Wellness Center, and renovations to the Wiedergott Fitness Room, Armour Cage, Elkins Gym, and more. We are particularly proud that every construction project has met the Age Quod Agis standard of excellence and will allow students to live and learn in a truly outstanding physical environment.
The Lives of Consequence campaign helped establish new signature academic programs and initiatives, namely the Global Citizenship Program, the Taft STEM Fellowship, the Gray Colloquium, St. Mark’s Saturdays, and Lion Term. Academic support and faculty development resources were expanded through the Burgess Center, and we increased the School’s investment in our community and equity work. These initiatives distinguish St. Mark’s and help prepare our students to lead lives of consequence.
Endowment support provided by the campaign has made an enduring impact on both faculty and students. By establishing the Faculty Excellence Fund, donors have provided the School with the ability to distribute salary increases at four milestones in a teacher’s tenure. This initiative enhances our ability to make St. Mark’s a destination school for the most talented and dedicated educators.
The significant increase in endowed financial aid funds helps ensure that a St. Mark’s education is accessible for exceptional students from all socio-economic backgrounds. We are a better school because of the students St. Mark’s is able to enroll thanks to our increased financial aid resources.
Finally, the Annual Fund, which contributes almost 10 percent of our operating budget, is absolutely integral to every part of the education that we provide for our students. The growth in the total resources provided by this fund over the course of the campaign has been essential to our ability to deliver on the promise of being intentionally small and educating our students for lives of leadership and service.
Some think that it is money that makes a campaign, but money is really just the product of a tremendous amount of time and talent mixed with a healthy dose of passion for St. Mark’s, an institution that many of us think of as home and family. The thousands of hours that went into strategic planning, facility design, financial analysis, and campaign planning and execution is an incredible testimony to the deep commitment of faculty, staff, alumni, and parents to the mission of St. Mark’s School.
While we now celebrate the end of the Lives of Consequence campaign, the campaigning to do more for our students and our alumni, for our society, will continue. On behalf of the entire St. Mark’s community, we offer our heartfelt gratitude to you for making the School a philanthropic priority.