Shreveport College’s $50 Million Campaign For Their Third Century

Shreveport's Centenary College is looking to jump headfirst into their third century with a bold plan.

The school will be celebrating their bicentennial in 2025, and to prepare for it, they have laid out a strategy to evolve their environment. This includes their physical campus, athletics, and their academic offerings. This massive campaign was announced during a big event on campus, featuring the current school President, as well as a beloved former President.

On Saturday, November 4th, Centenary held an event on campus to announce the Centenary Forward campaign. This is a 4-part, $50 million campaign to build a college for the next century.

Current Centenary President Dr. Christopher Holoman was joined by President Emeritus Dr. Donal Webb in addressing the audience. Dr. Holoman announced the plans for the campaign, and broke down the four parts of the campaign. In his speech, he brought all aspects of the campaign all back to the main focus. Holoman said:

“Our number one goal is to continue to grow enrollment while we continue to provide a great education. So, yes, the new programs that will be hosting in our science facilities, the new athletic teams that the transformation fund is funding and all those initiatives, yes, we're growing enrollment. The last two classes have been amazing. We're on track for another great class next year. And so, yeah, we're really looking forward to a bigger and better Centenary”

The school breaks down the four parts like this:

-$20M: renewing Mickle Hall and creating a School of Health Sciences
-$10M: startup funds for new programs
-$10M: toward scholarships
-$10M: maintenance of structures and academics (helping students and professors with academic needs)

The part of the campaign that addresses structures includes athletic facilities. Not just the existing structures, but new ones. This will include needs for the school's new football program, which will start their first official NCAA Division III season in 2024.

As far as how quickly Centenary will reach their $50 million goal for the campaign, the weekend event included the announcement that they have already raised $37 million of their goal. Leaving roughly $13 million left to secure for the campaign.

The growth of Centenary isn't just in the campaign and athletics department. The student body is growing rapidly as well. Which is a big part of why the campaign is necessary. This school year, Centenary has welcomed their largest freshman class since 2009. It includes over 250 new students this year, which increases the student body by nearly 20%. This year's Centenary undergraduate student body is over 600 students. A trend the school expects to see continue.

You can learn more about the Centenary campaign, and make a contribution, here.