CSM Foundation Celebrates Sweet Success of First Major Gifts Campaign

Plaques to Commemorate “Campaign for the Next 50 Years”

The College of Southern Maryland Foundation celebrates the success of its “Campaign for the Next 50 Years,” by recognizing all of the donors who supported the campaign with three plaque unveiling ceremonies to be held on each campus and a dedication and naming ceremony for the atrium in the Francis P. Chiaramonte, M.D. Center for Science and Technology.

The plaques, which list the name of every contributor to the campaign, will be unveiled June 11 at the La Plata Campus, June 18 at the Prince Frederick Campus and June 23 at the Leonardtown Campus. The ceremonies begin at 4 p.m. and donors of all levels are invited to attend and see their name in perpetuity.

On June 16 the atrium in the Francis P. Chiaramonte, M.D. Center for Science and Technology will be named to honor the $233,333 pledge by the Chesapeake-Potomac Healthcare Alliance. Formed in 1994 by Calvert Memorial Hospital, Civista Medical Center and St. Mary’s Hospital with the goal of providing the best in healthcare for every person in Southern Maryland, the alliance membership includes the Chesapeake-Potomac Regional Cancer Center and the Chesapeake-Potomac Home Health Agency. The donation by the alliance will further strengthen CSM’s goal to address local nursing and healthcare staff shortages.

During the college’s first-ever major gifts campaign, more than $7.7 million in cash, pledges and grants were donated by more than 700 supporters in the “Campaign for the Next 50 Years: Envision the Potential–Make a Difference.”

The funds raised will support an Institute for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (ISTEM), and a Regional Center for Trades and Transportation and address local nursing and healthcare workforce shortages, focus on educational excellence, and endow a student scholarship fund for access and success.

The campaign was chaired by former CSM Trustee and Foundation Chair, Mike Besche, CEO of Besche Oil. Working with him in leading the campaign were CSM Foundation Chair Donald Parsons Jr., Foundation Directors Candice Quinn Kelly, Casey Smith, Rosemary Keffler, St. Clair Tweedie, John McWilliams, Greg Cockerham, Jay Lilly, Ray Wernecke, Rick Tepel, Steve Proctor and Bill Sturgis, Trustee Representative Mike Middleton, and Campaign Manager Michelle Goodwin, CSM’s vice president of advancement.

The College of Southern Maryland Foundation, Inc. is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization governed by a corporate board of directors. Established in 1970, the mission of the Foundation is to promote academic excellence, growth, progress and the general welfare of the college. The Foundation raises and manages funds, and provides support to strengthen and develop the college, and its objectives.