Campaign Needs

Increasing the Endowment for Student Scholarships: $5 Million

Through the years, Franciscan University has worked hard to keep the cost of a Franciscan education low. And, to a degree, we’ve succeeded. Our school’s tuition, room, and board have remained well below that of most private colleges and universities. We also have managed to provide nearly 80 percent of our student body with some form of financial aid.

Unfortunately, we have not been able to provide our students with enough financial aid. Most of the scholarship money students receive comes from endowment income. But, because our endowment is well below that of most schools our size, we cannot provide qualified and deserving students with the large scholarship awards offered to them by other schools.

That means that right now, even though their actual costs are lower, our students pay more out of pocket than their peers at other private institutions. The only way most can afford to study at Franciscan is through taking out loans. For many of our students who leave here to work for the Church as teachers, catechists, and priests, paying back those loans can be the work of a lifetime. Other students are never able to pursue the vocation or career to which they believe they are called because of their student loan burden.

Increasing Franciscan University’s endowment by at least $5 million will enable us to make a significant difference in the affordability of a Franciscan education by offering more substantial scholarship awards to more deserving students. This includes the Blessed Junipero Serra Endowed Scholarship, earmarked for men discerning the priesthood, and the St. Catherine of Siena Endowed Scholarship for women discerning religious life. It also includes additional scholarships for the Father Michael Scanlan Scholars Program, which fully and partially funds the cost of a Franciscan education for the best and brightest students admitted to the University each year.