Penn State supporters celebrate the early success of A Greater Penn State—and set their sights on the opportunities ahead.

Nearly 1,200 Penn State donors, fundraising volunteers, and friends gathered in the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday, April 20, to celebrate the early success of A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence, our campaign to raise $1.6 billion by 2021. With 36 percent of the campaign elapsed to date, Penn State supporters have helped to raise 41.2 percent of the campaign goal, or $659,865,357.

“A Greater Penn State is about elevating Penn State’s position as a leading public university in the 21st century,” Penn State President Eric Barron said. “This means opening our doors to students from every economic background and enabling them to stay on track toward graduation, creating transformative experiences that go well beyond the classroom, and extending our ability to impact the world through discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Hear more about how Penn Staters are changing the world with the help of philanthropy by watching our event recap:

After the evening’s celebration, Campaign Chair Rick Sokolov reflected on the road ahead: “The numbers we’re seeing so far in the campaign are extraordinary, but the real measure of our success will be the Penn State students who, thanks to our donors’ support, will be empowered to become leaders in their fields and citizens of the world, and the Penn State faculty who will have the resources they need to lead the way in research on human health; food, water and energy security; the arts and humanities and more.”