Access.PittState.
CAPITAL CAMPAIGN
The Pittsburg State University Foundation is undertaking a new capital campaign (7/1/26 – 6/30/31) to support Pittsburg State's Strategic Plan and to open opportunities for our donors and partners to make real, immediate, and lasting impact.
$100M 5 YEARS
Targeted Investment
Ensuring the long-term strength of our institution, relevance of our academic programs, and prosperity of our graduates and community.
SCHOLARSHIPS
The primary focus will be building an endowment for the Great Gorilla Scholarship Program, which will ensure greater access for thousands of students each year in perpetuity. Secondary focus is on unrestricted and matching funds, as well as targeted scholarship funds for honors students, student teachers, and student athletes through the Silverback Fund.
FACILITIES
Focus will be to creatively build on state and federal funding to transform dated and undersized facilities with state-of-the-industry labs, classrooms, and collaboration spaces that better prepare graduates for meaningful workforce contributions, and secure the future viability of high-profile facilities that serve as regional economic engines. These include Diesel Heavy Equipment and Electric Vehicle Facility, renovated STEM labs in Heckert-Wells and Yates Halls, improved student experience spaces, and End Zone facility included in enhancements to Carnie Smith Stadium. Endowments will be created to sustain the Kelce College of Business, Bicknell Family Center for the Arts, and the Plaster Center for generations.
ACADEMICS
Focus will be to resource the growth of enduring and emerging programs identified as the current and future workforce and student demand drivers. These include cybersecurity, health sciences, supply chain, material science, criminal justice, and STEM education.
FACULTY
Focus will be on endowments that create permanent faculty positions in key programs, securing knowledge and attracting the best talent in high-priority fields critical to the regional workforce. These include criminal justice, nursing, business/regional economic development, and construction.
Campaign Message from President Thomas Newsom
As we begin a new academic year, Vicky and I are grateful to be part of Gorilla Nation, and we look forward to what’s to come!
In support of our vision for the future of Pitt State, we launched a five-year, $100 million capital campaign focused on the four interconnected pillars of Access Pitt State: People, Innovation, Talent, and Tradition.
Our first academic year exceeded all expectations, and something happens daily that reminds us we made the right choice in making this community and university our home.
One of the initial items on our agenda was relaunching an already successful strategic plan with a new focus that more intentionally tied it to my vision for the future of our university.
This capital campaign will change the landscape and future of Southeast Kansas and our region for generations to come. It will provide targeted, large-scale investments in academic excellence, faculty talent, student access, and transformative facilities, ensuring Pitt State remains a catalyst for lifetime success for our students and our community.
One specific initiative is to grow an endowment supporting the Great Gorilla Scholarship Program — a renewable, four-year scholarship that makes the lifetime benefits of education a reality for more students. Over the past two years, the scholarship has been a key driver of enrollment growth in our freshman classes.
Contributing to this endowment, in whatever amount you’re able, is an opportunity to leave a generational legacy. Great Gorilla Scholarships will help remove barriers and help students stay enrolled — and if we can raise $25 million, the endowment will fund Great Gorilla Scholarships forever.
Not just this year. Not just next year. Forever. Thousands and thousands of students.
What a legacy you could be part of — helping students, many of them first-generation, earn an education, start a career, and transform their lives and the lives of their families and future generations.
We invite our alumni, partners, and friends to join us in that commitment.
Thank you for being part of Pitt State!
Support Pitt State
Let's chat!
Call Development Office
Phone: (620) 235-4768
Email: dev@pittstate.edu
Office: 112A2 Russ Hall
Thank you for your continued support!