WashU’s transformative fundraising initiative ‘makes way’ for top applicants

Susan Killenberg McGinn from WashU’s marketing and communications department wrote this originally for The Record, the university’s online newspaper. This is a condensed version.

Washington University in St. Louis has announced a transformative fundraising initiative that aims not only to increase financial resources for students at every level of need, including middle-income students, but also to provide a “best-in-class” experience for all students to learn, develop and flourish while on campus and beyond.

Called Make Way: Our Student Initiative, it will build financial resources for undergraduate scholarships, graduate scholarships and fellowships, and the student experience, helping Washington University remove financial barriers for the most qualified students and offer every student the freedom to navigate an educational path.

“With Make Way, we aim to be the most supportive university in the country for all of our students, including first-generation and lower-income students as well as those from middle-income families for whom a WashU education is a significant financial stretch,” said Chancellor Andrew D. Martin.

“And not only will we help them get here, but we’ll also help them thrive here, so they will leave prepared to make their unique mark on the world,” Martin added. “It is imperative for us to remain competitive, increase our distinction and live up to our moral obligation as a university to open our doors as fully as possible.”

Martin announced Make Way Oct. 6 during a celebratory event in Tisch Park heralded by WashU cheerleaders and the Bear Nation Varsity Band. Faculty, students, donors and friends attended individual school receptions before joining university administrators and Board of Trustees members at the east end of the Danforth Campus for the announcement.

The goal is to raise a minimum of $600 million in gifts and commitments. More than $315 million has been raised already for the initiative thanks to the generosity of alumni, parents and friends. Gifts from some donors encourage others to give. WashU Trustee Lee Fixel, BSBA ’02, and his wife, Lauren, of New York, established the Catalyst Challenge, which provides matching funds for new endowed undergraduate scholarships of $200,000 or more. And Trustee Larry Thomas, BSBA ’77, created the Step Up Challenge to inspire annual scholarship donors to increase their level of support.

To learn more about Make Way and how to support the initiative, visit the Make Way website and read the original version of this story.

Pictured above: Chancellor Andrew D. Martin announces Make Way: Our Student Initiative during an Oct. 6 event in Tisch Park (Photo: Jerry Naunheim Jr./Washington University)