Think & Do the Extraordinary Campaign helps the Libraries expand endowments, scholarships

The NC State University Libraries raised over $25.8 million through the Think and Do the Extraordinary campaign, exceeding its goal of $22 million by over 17%. Thanks to donors, the campaign’s success translates into student success as the Libraries serves every NC State student through its services, spaces, collections, programs, and scholarships.

"The generosity of Libraries donors during this campaign was truly extraordinary,” says Greg Raschke, Senior Vice Provost and Director of Libraries. “Our supporters led the way in surpassing the campaign goal early—and more than doubling the Libraries endowment—to create a foundation of support that will benefit generations of students and researchers."

Gifts made to the Libraries during the five-year campaign, which ended in December 2021, have enabled the Libraries to create student assistantships and scholarships, build our technology- and textbook-lending programs, and continue offering workshops that promote collaboration and enhance job readiness while easing the financial burdens of our highest-need students. 

Donors have established new endowments for collections, scholarships, and the discretionary Library Excellence Endowment. The endowment corpus nearly doubled as a result of the campaign. Additionally, the Libraries has built its first unrestricted strategic priority endowment—the Susan K. Nutter Innovative Leadership Endowment—at seven figures.

Libraries student scholarships have been a particular area of growth because—especially through the recent pandemic years—student need has risen. The Libraries has awarded a total of 23 scholarships to its student workers so far. These awards have helped students like Nyawira Nyota, who aspires to build renewable electrical infrastructure in the developing world, and Binita Thapa, who hopes to bring her passion for regenerative medicine to the pharmaceutical industry. Campaign support has created the following scholarships:

• Lucile Laughinghouse Gabriel Scholarship: provides need-based scholarships for student employees of the Libraries, first $1,000 award this spring semester
• Libraries Student Scholarship: offers need-based scholarships for Libraries student employees, 11 recipients awarded with variable amounts totalling $33,500 since 2020

"The funds raised during this campaign have pioneered new frontiers for the Libraries in helping recruit the very best students to NC State, ensuring they have the resources they need for success, making a degree more affordable, and providing our students with a competitive advantage in the marketplace when they graduate,” Raschke adds. “The Libraries’ potential to benefit students in all of those areas is boundless, and we could not hope to achieve that potential without the support of our incredible Friends and donors."