It took 86,400 seconds on April 7 for 602 gifts from alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of Rose-Hulman to contribute $491,180 supporting the top-ranked science, engineering and mathematics undergraduate college in meeting its greatest needs, including student scholarships.

The donations during a special Rose-Hulman Giving Day exceeded the original $350,000 fundraising and 533 gift total goals. 

“We’re grateful for these generous financial gifts, which are important to the life and future of Rose-Hulman,” said President Robert A. Coons. “This showcases the variety of people that support our mission to provide our students with the world’s best undergraduate STEM education in an environment of individual attention and support.” 

Several generous individuals provided matching gifts to further incentivize giving during this year’s event. Matching gift challenges were contributed by Coons and members of his administrative cabinet to increase student scholarships, while alumnus Chris Trapp and wife Christine, Bob Brown, and alumnus Jim Young supported various athletic initiatives.

Also, alumnus Roger Ward and wife Marilyn supported funding to assist neurodivergent students; alumnus Matt Iwema supported a scholarship fund honoring the late Claude Anderson, a former computer science and software engineering professor; and alumnus Samuel Kowal supported a scholarship recognizing legendary mechanical engineering professor, department head and alumnus Robert Steinhauser.

Former director of international student services Karen DeGrange provided a match to support an international student scholarship, while the family of legendary mathematics professor, the late Herb Bailey, supported a scholarship fund.

“Our Giving Day theme this year was 86,400 seconds to give,” said Steve Brady, vice president for institutional advancement. “We can’t thank our alumni and friends enough for taking just a few seconds out of their day to give back to Rose-Hulman. Their contributions will make a positive impact year-round – every day, every hour, and every second – on our institution.”

This was Rose-Hulman’s third Giving Day event. Each year has set institution records for most donations and donors contributing throughout one day. The 2021 event brought in $331,900 from 533 donors, while 2020 raised $320,590 from 450 donors.