NORTHFIELD, Vt., April 26, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Norwich University's President Richard W. Schneider announced today that the University has received the largest gift in its 194-year history. At a dinner for the board of trustees on April 25, 2013, COL (IL) J. N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (Retired), President of the Tawani Foundation, committed $25 million in advance of the University's bicentennial campaign.
"It gives me great joy to support Norwich's upcoming fundraising campaign with this gift to ensure that it has the facilities and resources to meet every challenge as it begins its third century of service to the nation," said Pritzker. "There is no other place like Norwich University. This gift demonstrates my dedication to the University, its mission and my faith in its leadership."
"This gift will transform the University and have an impact on future generations of students and faculty," Schneider said. "We are all here at Norwich for one purpose: to educate America's future leaders. We are humbled by this charge and grateful for the support as we prepare to celebrate in 2019 the 200th anniversary of our founding."
Norwich will publicly launch its bicentennial campaign in October 2014, when it will also announce the campaign's overall goal.
"This gift is a challenge to current, former and emeriti trustees to match my contribution in order to successfully position the University for the public launch of the campaign in 2014," Pritzker added.
Colonel Pritzker served on Norwich's Board of Trustees from 1997-2007, is a trustee emeritus and is the founder of the Pritzker Military Library in Chicago. The historic donation was made through the Tawani Foundation.
ABOUT TAWANI FOUNDATION
Founded by COL (IL) J. N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (Retired), Tawani Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) grant-making organization whose mission is: to enhance the awareness and understanding of the importance of the Citizen Soldier; to preserve unique sites of significance to American and military history; to foster health and wellness projects for improved quality of life; and to honor the service of military personnel, past, present and future, through an awards program that includes the JROTC/ROTC Award for Military Excellence, the William E. Colby Award and the Pritzker Military Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing.
Norwich University is a diversified academic institution that educates traditional-age students and adults in a Corps of Cadets and as civilians. Norwich offers a broad selection of traditional and distance-learning programs culminating in Baccalaureate and Graduate Degrees. Norwich University was founded in 1819 by Captain Alden Partridge of the U.S. Army. Norwich University is the oldest private military college in the United States of America and the birthplace of our nation's Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). www.norwich.edu