One year after introducing a strategic plan for the future of Marietta College, the institution is celebrating a historic response from the people who have long shaped its future. The College received a record $19.3 million in philanthropic support in fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26).
Marietta’s strategic plan, More History to Make, outlines a vision focused on expanding experiential learning, strengthening academic programs, deepening the College’s role as a regional asset and ensuring long-term financial sustainability. Alumni, parents, faculty, staff, Trustees, foundations, corporations and friends responded with support, marking the most successful year of giving in the institution's nearly 200-year history. The total surpassed the $16.1 million received last year and represents remarkable growth from the $7.4 million received just three years ago.
“For nearly two centuries, Marietta's story has been written by people who believed enough in its future to invest in it,” said President Kathleen Poorman Dougherty. “This incredible year reminds us that our greatest strength has always been our people. Together, they are creating opportunities for today’s students while laying the foundation for generations of Pioneers still to come.”
Especially encouraging is how this milestone was achieved. More than $14.5 million supported The Marietta Fund and More History to Make, providing flexible resources where students need them most. More than four out of every five dollars given to higher education nationally are designated for specific purposes, according to the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Marietta’s growth in flexible support is therefore especially significant. For generations, philanthropy has provided a critical share of the resources required to fulfill Marietta’s mission, with each generation of Pioneers helping make the full Marietta experience possible for the next.
That flexibility is already strengthening marketing and enrollment and fueling the launch of new undergraduate and graduate programs through investments in the people, resources, equipment and learning environments students need to succeed. That support includes renovated space for the first cohort in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate program. The Milone Center for Academic and Career Success, which opened in January following a donor-funded renovation of Legacy Library’s first floor, now integrates academic support, career preparation and the experiential learning that defines The Landmark Experience.
Progress is also taking shape through the Center for Earth, Energy, and the Environment (CEEE), which hosted its inaugural symposium and kicked off the CEEE Launch Challenge in April. The Center for Appalachian Innovation began its work in November 2025 with support provided by the State of Ohio. Together, these efforts show how philanthropy, public investment and institutional commitment are advancing academic innovation, student success and community partnership.
Across campus, students are benefiting in different ways. Ashley Etzel ’28 is conducting advanced physics research through the ASCENT (Appalachian Semiconductor Education and Technical Ecosystem) Fellows program. Brady McManaway ’26, among the first in his family to pursue a college education, says scholarship support has eased his financial burden and inspired him to give back to his community and future generations. Storm Stimmel ’27 is preparing for a career in public policy and journalism through leadership opportunities and research focused on economic development in Appalachian Ohio.
Incoming student Jasmine Christensen ’30 remembers crying after learning she had received the John G. and Jeanne B. McCoy Scholarship, which covers full tuition, room and board. Raised by teenage parents facing financial hardship and other challenges, college often felt beyond reach.
“It was like all the hard nights of studying, showing up when I didn’t have the energy, and saying the things no one wanted to say were all worth it,” she wrote to her scholarship donors. “I cried ... not only because I was extremely honored, but because I most certainly needed it.”
This year’s success also reflects alumni and friends who believed in Marietta’s future long before FY26. Nearly $6.8 million came through estate gifts planned years, and sometimes decades, before they were received. That generosity continues to create opportunities for students those donors would never meet.
“This record reflects a community that believes deeply in our students and Marietta College’s future,” said Bethany McFarland Leslie ’12, Vice President for Advancement. “Every gift represents someone choosing to invest in possibility. Together, those acts of generosity give Marietta the flexibility to respond to students’ needs, pursue bold ideas and create opportunities that change lives.”