Robert Morris University announced today a historic $100 million comprehensive fundraising campaign, RMU 100: Ready to Rise, which will provide scholarships to students, underwrite faculty research and new learning facilities, and ensure that RMU student-athletes continue to compete at the highest level. 

The university has already secured $92 million in gifts and pledges toward its goal of $100 million by the time RMU celebrates its centennial in September 2021.The campaign is the largest in Robert Morris history, eclipsing the $44 million the university raised in its Changing Lives, Building Futures campaign that wrapped up in 2012. 

“With this campaign, we will ensure that a Robert Morris University education remains affordable for the next generation of RMU students, and the next generation of business and community leaders in Pittsburgh,” said RMU President Chris Howard.

Richard Harshman, Maria Kalevitch, and Chris Howard for the groundbreaking ceremony of the John Jay Expansion Project

Money raised during the campaign has already paid for the UPMC Events Center, which opened in May as the new home for RMU’s NCAA Division I basketball and volleyball teams. The 161,000 square-foot multipurpose facility also hosts concerts, conferences, and family shows. The university also has raised money for the first phase of renovations to the John Jay Center for the School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science. RMU broke ground on that project today, thanks to a $5 million gift from the Richard King Mellon Foundation.

“Today is the culmination of our hard work, dedication, and perseverance. This project will position Robert Morris as a leader in STEM education and workforce development, and allow us to offer more opportunities for research and outreach to students and faculty,” said Maria Kalevitch, dean of the RMU School of Engineering, Mathematics and Science. 

RMU Colonials vs. the Pitt Panthers at the UPMC Events Center inaugural game on November 12

But the top priority for the campaign is raising money for scholarships and other forms of financial aid to ensure that an RMU education remains affordable for all its students. Approximately 30 percent of Robert Morris students are eligible for federal Pell Grants because they come from low-income families, and more than 90 percent of all RMU students receive some form of financial aid.

“Growing up in the Pittsburgh area, RMU was definitely my No. 1 choice as an accounting student, but I wasn’t sure if I would be able to afford it,” said Tylyn Bramble, who will graduate in December with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and a master’s degree in data analytics. 

“Once I applied, I was awarded some really amazing scholarships that made it possible for me to come here. Once I got into the classroom and got to know my accounting professors, I could really tell that they cared about me and my education, as well as my success,” said Bramble, who has accepted a full-time job offer from PwC.