WARE MALCOMB CHAIRMAN CO-CHAIRS RECORD-BREAKING $383 MILLION FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN FOR KENT STATE UNIVERSITY
KENT, Ohio (August 15, 2024) – Kent State University recently acknowledged Ware Malcomb Chairman Lawrence R. Armstrong and his wife, Sandra C. Armstrong for their leadership of Forever Brighter, the school’s most successful fundraising campaign in its 114-year history. The husband-and-wife team co-chaired the three-year campaign and were themselves major donors to the effort, which concluded in June 2024 and raised more than $383.2 million.
Forever Brighter was a comprehensive fundraising campaign that launched with an initial goal of raising $350 million to support student scholarships, university initiatives, capital-building projects and global education. Philanthropic support during the campaign has resulted in the construction of Crawford Hall, a new 150,000-square-foot home for the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship on the Kent Campus, as well as an expansion to the College of Aeronautics and Engineering building and FedEx Aeronautics Academic Center, and other important capital improvements.
“Sandy and I have always been thankful for the role Kent State played in our lives,” said Armstrong, who earned his degrees from Kent State in 1979 and 1980. “Serving as the co-chairs for the Forever Brighter campaign allowed us to contribute to the long-term success of this awesome university, and it has been exciting to see how devoted our university community is to Kent State and its students. The support raised through this campaign will continue to elevate our reputation as a top university while making a Kent State education accessible to countless students.”
A total of 66,310 individual donors contributed during the campaign. With three priorities – Prioritizing Student Success, Expanding University Initiatives and Building the Future – at its core, the campaign would fund projects, programs and initiatives to enhance student experiences and elevate Kent State’s reputation as a national leader in student support, athletics, research and innovation.
“The Forever Brighter campaign placed student success, especially scholarships, as its highest priority,” Sandra Armstrong said. “That commitment to student success is one of the special qualities that makes Kent State so amazing, and it’s a commitment that is shared among our enthusiastic supporters. Thank you to our Campaign Executive Committee and everyone else who contributed to the success of this campaign and the brilliant futures of Kent State students who will serve as the next generation of leaders.”
Philanthropy has become a driving force at Kent State, illuminating a brighter future for its students and their communities. The successful campaign demonstrated the success that Kent State has had since 1991, when the university implemented its first fundraising campaign and began promoting a culture of giving among alumni and other supporters.
“As we look toward the future, we celebrate the success of the Forever Brighter campaign and continue our commitment to ensuring access and fostering completion,” said Todd Diacon, Kent State’s president. “I’m thrilled that we exceeded our $350 million goal. That’s going to make a difference, right now and long into the future. We are all deeply grateful to the thousands of donors whose generosity is making the university forever brighter.”
“As we conclude the Forever Brighter campaign, we are humbled and proud to have surpassed our $350 million goal,” said Valoree Vargo, Kent State’s vice president of philanthropy and alumni engagement. “We are grateful to the many supporters who have given their time and contributions; we have achieved our goal of making our students’ futures brighter.”
About Kent State University (www.kent.edu)
Kent State University is the highest-ranked public university in northern Ohio on the Top Public Schools and Best National Universities lists by U.S. News & World Report. The university also holds the esteemed distinction of being one of only five institutions in Ohio to be recognized as an R1 top-tier research university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Kent State is one of Ohio’s leading public universities and a major educational, economic and cultural resource far beyond the Northeast Ohio region it has served since 1910. The university has a global footprint with eight campuses throughout Northeast Ohio, a College of Podiatric Medicine, a Twinsburg Academic Center and academic sites around the world, including New York City; Florence, Italy; and Curitiba, Brazil. Kent State offers award-winning student support services that help students succeed. Its diverse student body comprises more than 33,500 students, including more than 2,000 international students from 101 countries, and the worldwide alumni family is nearly 280,000. Kent State provides transformational educational experiences and leads with its values, which include kindness, respect and freedom of expression.
About Lawrence R. Armstrong
Lawrence R. Armstrong embodies the Renaissance approach to life. He is an accomplished artist, architect, philanthropist, author and Chairman of Ware Malcomb, an international design firm. With a career over three decades, Lawrence has been at the forefront of innovative leadership. His tenure as CEO of Ware Malcomb is hallmarked by an unprecedented 40x revenue growth, guiding Ware Malcomb to international prominence. Drawing from all aspects of his life, Lawrence’s latest accomplishment, ‘Layered Leadership’, is a book about creativity, driving double-digit growth, and dominating the competition with innovative strategies and execution.
About Ware Malcomb (waremalcomb.com)
Established in 1972, Ware Malcomb is a contemporary and expanding full-service design firm providing professional architecture, planning, interior design, civil engineering, branding and building measurement services to corporate, commercial/residential developer and public/institutional clients throughout the world. With office locations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil, the firm specializes in the design of office, industrial, science & technology, healthcare, multifamily, retail, and public/institutional projects. Ware Malcomb is recognized as an Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private company and a Hot Firm by Zweig Group. The firm is also ranked among the top 10 architecture/engineering firms in Engineering News-Record’s Top 500 Design Firms and the top 30 interior design firms in Interior Design magazine’s Top 100 Giants. For more information, visit waremalcomb.com.
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