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Endowment and Capital Gifts
One measure of Drury's financial health is its ability to balance
its operating budget while making major new capital investments in
programs and facilities. The generosity of alumni and friends in
establishing endowments and funding construction and renovation at
Drury for more than 130 years has been remarkable.
 All
who know the university shares a love for the beauty of Drury's campus.
What began as "Forty Acres of Christian Atmosphere" has grown to over
80 acres in the historic Midtown neighborhood of Springfield. Not
only the buildings themselves, but the spaces between and around them
characterize the Drury campus - College Park and the four new
fraternity houses on the northwest corner of the campus, the new
Trustee Science Center at the southwest corner and our newest addition,
the Pool Art Center, which is the cornerstone of the southeast campus.
Drury recently renewed its American Tree Farm Certification,
recognizing its substantial variety of oak, hickory, maple and walnut
trees intermixed with persimmons, catalpas, elms and other species of
trees. As the university contemplates renovation projects and the
construction of new facilities, the preservation and renewal of one of
America's most treasured campuses is a top priority.
The size
of the endowment is crucial both to Drury's immediate success and its
long-term strength. There remains a need for permanent endowments that
underpin student financial aid, instructional support, library and
information technology, and many other programs, and the university
hopes to earn the support of alumni and others for these priorities.
Drury's $100 million Second Century Fund Campaign began in the
1980s. Phase IV, the $18.9 million Campaign for Science to build and
equip a new science center, was successfully concluded in March of
2001. Phase V, the final phase of the Second Century Fund Campaign,
will add $25 million to Drury's endowment to support the
sciences.
One additional capital campaign was completed in September 2003, the
Campaign for the Fine Arts. The $1.6 million Campaign for the Fine Arts
completed the funding needed to renovate and equip an historic former
warehouse to provide a new home for the Department of Art and Art
History. The naming gift for this significant project was provided by
Drury friend and benefactor Earl L. Pool to honor his sister, Drury
Trustee Mary Jane Pool, and as a memorial tribute to his wife, the late
Barbara Spencer Pool, and his parents, Earl and Dorothy Pool. The
facility has been named the Pool Art Center in honor of this
gift.
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