The university announced a $10 million donation from Arthur (COL ’54) and Nancy Calcagnini to be used for undergraduate scholarships and for the Office of Mission and Ministry. Scholarships will account for $7.5 million, and the Office of Mission and Ministry will receive the rest, according to a university-wide email sent by University President John DeGioia on Mar. 12.
The donation is the largest sent to the university in recent history, according to a GU Giving press release. “We are deeply grateful to Arthur and Nancy for their extraordinary contributions to our Georgetown community,” DeGioia said in the release. “Their generosity has strengthened our University in incalculable ways—helping us to bring the very best students to Georgetown and to provide opportunities for members of our community, across faith traditions, to come together in reflection and contemplation.”
Arthur Calcagnini was the Director of U.S. Sugar Policy in the U.S. Department of Agriculture during the Nixon and Ford administrations. Currently, he is the chair of the Board of Regents and has been a member of the university’s Board of Directors since the 1980s.
“Nancy and I, as well as my children and grandchildren, have been blessed with a good education, and we wanted to share our blessings with deserving students from around the country,” Arthur Calcagnini said in the release. “I created my first scholarship in memory of my mother, so it’s deeply meaningful for me to hear that these funds have enabled dozens of hard-working students to get a Georgetown education since then.”
The funds Mission and Ministry received will be used to support several religious programs, one notable example being ESCAPE, a retreat program which the Calcagninis have financially supported since 1991.
