Saint Joseph’s University Launches $300M Campaign to Advance the Student Experience

PHILADELPHIA (May 6, 2022) — Saint Joseph’s University has launched a historic $300 million comprehensive campaign — SOAR: The Campaign for Saint Joseph’s University — to fund multiple capital projects on its Hawk Hill campus, increase access to education through financial aid and scholarships, and further academic and mission innovation.

“Our plans are bold and they are critical in every way,” says President Mark C. Reed, Ed.D. “Our next steps forward will determine how Saint Joseph’s shapes tomorrow’s leaders who go out and make a direct and meaningful impact on our world.”

Of its $300-million goal, the comprehensive campaign will focus on three major priorities:

• $150 million in the investment of an elite campus experience, enhancing the living and learning facilities of its residential campus.
• $75 million in support of endowed and current-use scholarships with an emphasis on financial need.
• $75 million to furthering the University's excellence in academics, research, scholarship, pedagogy and mission-driven programs that advance the common good.

“Support from the Saint Joseph’s community has always driven our vision forward and the SOAR campaign will be no different,” says Joe Kender, vice president of university relations. “This campaign is our unwavering commitment to always strive for more.”

In recent decades, the University has capitalized on timely opportunities to expand its footprint at a steady pace, nearly doubling its grounds to 125 acres. SOAR’s campus enhancement projects will leverage this strength:

• Upgrades to Saint Joseph’s Hawk Hill campus athletics complex will provide multi-use facilities for student-athletes to practice, train and study; enhance the fan experience; and build spaces for the community to gather. Also included are dedicated practice facilities for the men’s and women’s basketball programs.
• The renovation of the University’s fitness and recreation facilities will create a hub for campus wellness, improving spaces for group classes, intramurals and activities; and expanding space for fitness equipment.
• A pedestrian underpass will burrow beneath City Avenue to join the Philadelphia and Lower Merion parts of campus to ensure safe passage for students, faculty, staff and neighboring community members.
• A new facility for Saint Joseph’s renowned Kinney Center for Autism Education and Support will expand the center’s research, services, special programs, education and training programs. A particular focus on job readiness and vocational training strengthens Kinney’s evolution by supporting a generation of individuals with autism who are now entering the workforce.

"Hawk Hill is the place where students are challenged and supported to even greater academic excellence, where they discover more of themselves and the world, where leaders are formed," says James M. Norris ’85, chair of Saint Joseph’s Board of Trustees. “Place matters — and that is why these investments in Saint Joseph's campus are so critical.”

Already, the impact of SOAR: The Campaign for Saint Joseph’s can be seen on campus. The University recently completed renovations of the Frances M. Maguire Art Museum located within the Barnes Arboretum at Saint Joseph’s. The museum originally housed the famed Barnes impressionist collection, and will open again to visitors in spring of 2023 as a dynamic, modern educational gallery that also serves the surrounding community with K-12 programming.

To date, SOAR has already raised $140 million toward its goal. For more information, visit sju.edu/soar.