Delaware Valley College Announces Transformational $29.8 Million Gift and Plans to Seek University Status

DOYLESTOWN, Pa., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Delaware Valley College President, Dr. Joseph S. Brosnan, announced today that the institution has received a transformational $29.8 million gift from The Warwick Foundation of Bucks County. This is the largest outright donation from a foundation or individual to a small east coast college since 1998, according to survey data from the Council for Aid to Education (CAE). In addition, President Brosnan announced that the College will be seeking University status in the next few years.

Founded in 1961 by Kenneth and Helen Hartman Gemmill, The Warwick Foundation of Bucks County is a private charitable foundation of the Gemmill family. Elizabeth Gemmill, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Warwick Foundation, said, "We were motivated by the vision of President Brosnan for the future of Delaware Valley College; this gift is made in support of that vision and the strategic plan for the institution."  

At a press conference at the Joseph Krauskopf Memorial Library on campus, Brosnan thanked Gemmill for this "gift of a lifetime," which will move the College's Strategic Plan forward as it advances toward university status, strengthens its academic program and solidifies its long-term financial position.

Gemmill added, "The trustees and family believe that this gift will have an important and lasting impact on the future of Delaware Valley College. 

"This gift is entirely in accordance with the Foundation's commitment to education and to the college where Kenneth Gemmill once served as Chairman of the Board of Directors.  We are thrilled about this, knowing Delaware Valley College will use our gift for a meaningful and lasting educational purpose."

After announcing the gift, Brosnan unveiled a visual representation of the College's proposed new institutional structure as a small, private university dedicated to teaching.  In addition to undergraduate programs across the life and physical sciences, agricultural and environmental sciences, and business and humanities, the proposed new university structure will feature a Graduate and Entrepreneurial division.  DelVal, a leader in experiential learning, currently offers two Master's Degrees and is expanding its programs and services for military veterans and their families. DelVal offers many of its academic programs both on campus and on-line.    

The $29.8 million gift includes a 398-acre property in Warwick township valued at approximately $14.8 million, which will become the "Kenneth and Helen Gemmill Campus" for the College.  The second component is a $10 million endowment that will maintain the new campus and its academic programs and initiatives.  Another $5 million in unrestricted funds will be used to further the College's Strategic Plan, which calls for, among other major initiatives, the development of a new Life Sciences Center.  

Brosnan remarked that, "This is the largest single gift in the history of our institution and is truly transformational for the faculty and students.  It is an honor - almost beyond words - to be the recipients of such generosity and we are deeply indebted to the Warwick Foundation and the Gemmill Family."

Delaware Valley College is a private, multi-disciplinary college on 571 acres in Doylestown. Founded in 1896, it features individualized attention, small class sizes and an applied as well as a theoretical approach to learning. The College specializes in the life sciences and offers 27 undergraduate majors.

SOURCE Delaware Valley College