The $300 Million Campaign to Support the College’s Strategic Plan.
Since 1842, The Citadel has answered the call to develop principled leaders equipped to meet the challenges of an increasingly complex world. In honor of this proud tradition, and in support of the college’s Our Mighty Citadel 2026 strategic plan, The Citadel Foundation has launched the most ambitious fundraising campaign in The Citadel’s history.
Through the Our Mighty Citadel 2026 strategic plan, The Citadel has embarked upon an ambitious course to establish and secure its reputation as the preeminent college of principled leadership in the nation.
The corresponding Our Mighty Citadel fundraising campaign, a comprehensive drive to raise $300 million for the ongoing benefit of the Corps of Cadets and all students, presents both an opportunity and a challenge to the college’s alumni, friends and institutional partners—a challenge The Citadel community is uniquely prepared to accept with honor, fortitude and confidence of success.
The impact of this fundraising drive will be felt on every corner of the campus. Initiatives funded by the campaign will significantly enhance our academic and leader development programs, improve campus facilities, enhance the college’s athletics programs and enrich the cadet experience.
Success in this effort will position the college to achieve its strategic goal and desired end-state: to strengthen The Citadel into a nationally recognized college for the education and development of principled leaders. And we are well on our way.
Thanks to the tireless efforts of our campaign volunteers and the generosity of numerous donors who have stepped forward to make leadership gifts since January 2020, we have already achieved more than two-thirds of our goal to raise $300 million by the close of 2026. With your support, we are certain to succeed.
For over 180 years, Citadel graduates have answered the call to serve. To succeed in this effort, we must marshal the talents, resources and participation of our alumni and friends. Now is the time for The Citadel family to step forward to make a meaningful gift to the Our Mighty Citadel campaign. Together, we will ensure the forward march of the Long Gray Line.
Campaign Priorities
Advancing Academic Excellence
($140 Million)
The Our Mighty Citadel campaign will enhance existing programs and launch new efforts to support scholarship and enhance learning across campus:
- Provide access and affordability for key student populations through enhanced financial aid and scholarship support such as the Service to Country and Service to Nation Scholarships
- Create or expand programs of distinction within each academic school
- Develop new majors, minors, and career pathways in critically relevant fields such as Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Intelligence and Security Studies and Engineering
- Establish new endowed chairs, professorships, and enhancement funds for critical disciplines such as Engineering, Physics, Data Analytics, Cyber and Climate Science
- Enhance resources for academic advising, student success and faculty support
- Provide Fine Arts programming to maximize student use of the art gallery and performance spaces featured in the newly reconstructed Capers Hall
These programs will increase the college’s emphasis on developing a comprehensive curriculum that fosters excellence in the learning environment and elevates institutional prominence.
Inspiring Tomorrow’s Leaders
($25 Million)
The Our Mighty Citadel campaign will expand existing programs and employ a variety of new innovative actions to enhance The Citadel’s ability to educate and develop principled leaders to serve their country and communities:
- Establish the Krause School of Leadership and Ethics as the college’s sixth primary academic unit by consolidating the Department of Leadership Studies and the Krause Center for Leadership and Ethics as a single administrative entity coordinating the college’s academic, theoretical, experiential and community engagement leader development programs
- Design and construct a multi-use Leadership Reaction Course to support cadets, students, faculty and staff across multiple areas of campus for team building and leader development
- Expand the existing Citadel Global Scholars Program to include summer and semester-long study abroad programs in Spain, London, Thailand and South Korea while continuing to offer programs in Rome, Greece, Cyprus, the United Kingdom and Washington DC
- Enhance and support the growing population of international cadets and students through programs such as The Citadel Support for Ukraine Scholarship
Empowering Athletics
($55 Million)
The Our Mighty Citadel campaign aims to increase the financial independence of The Citadel’s athletics programs by:
- Fully funding athletic scholarships in all varsity sports through the endowed Stand Forever fund to maximize the potential of The Citadel’s athletics programs, enhance the quality of the cadet athletes being recruited and expand the diversity within the Corps of Cadets
- Enhancing the experience of all student and cadet athletes through the “Major of St. Lo” Victory fund to provide resources for activities such as academic support services, sport-specific needs, sports medicine, nutritional needs, leadership development and facility improvements
- Constructing or renovating existing athletics facilities to provide a best-in-class experience for student athletes, recruits, and fans alike through improvements to Johnson Hagood Stadium, Riley Park, and the Earle Tennis Center
- Endowing the Athletic Director’s position and other coaches’ positions and create sport-specific team excellence funds to allow existing resources to be reallocated to other essential needs of The Citadel’s athletics programs
Sustaining Our Traditions
($80 Million)
Gifts to The Our Mighty Citadel campaign will transform student learning and living spaces by renovating campus facilities, upgrading antiquated barracks space, procuring state-of-the art classroom and laboratory equipment and providing technology upgrades campuswide. The campaign will enhance The Citadel Foundation’s annual academic grant and the college’s ability to execute the Our Mighty Citadel 2026 strategic plan:
- Establish the Our Mighty Citadel fund to provide the resources to implement and operationalize the initiatives identified in the college’s strategic plan
- Provide resources to implement the Campus Master Plan for facility improvements and expansion by funding several key capital projects, including a new facility to house the School of Engineering, enhancements to the Near Climate Studies Center and the renovation of Stevens Barracks
- Expand the Academic Enhancement fund, which plays a critical role in underwriting academic programs at the college through The Citadel Foundation’s annual grant distribution made to the college for essential academic enrichment opportunities for students and faculty