By G. Jeffrey MacDonald
BOSTON (RNS) An evangelical college on Boston’s North Shore is about to become nearly three times richer, thanks to a $60 million gift from a California couple whose two grandchildren attend the school.
The gift to Gordon College from real estate developer Dale Fowler and his wife, Sarah Ann Fowler, catapults Gordon’s endowment from $33 million to $93 million. In honor of the gift, administrators on Wednesday (Aug. 29) unveiled a sign naming the Wenham, Mass. campus, “The Dale E. and Sarah Ann Fowler Campus.”

“Our great desire is for Christ to be pre-eminent in our management of wealth,” Dale Fowler told a school-wide audience at a chapel service marking the first day of school (Wednesday, Aug. 29). “Hopefully many others, led by God’s Spirit, will see in Gordon College an opportunity to make a difference.”
Even before pledging their endowment gift, the Fowlers had become active donors to Gordon. Their financial commitments paved the way for such projects as new bleachers for athletic events, campus landscaping projects and a soon-to-be-established post for an admissions recruiter in Southern California. Now the unrestricted endowment gift opens a range of opportunities for the school’s approximately 1,800 undergraduate and graduate students.
“The Fowlers’ gift is often the most difficult money for colleges and nonprofits to raise as most gifts go towards a specific project,” said Dan Tymann, the school’s executive vice president for advancement, communication and technology. “Their generosity will not only secure the financial future of the College, but will also allow Gordon to invest in more student scholarships, enhance faculty salaries, support new and ongoing programs and assist with capital projects.”

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