Wabash First Lady Wendy and President Scott Feller celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps at a gala event October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse.
Mark Miles ’76, president and chief executive officer of Penske Entertainment Corp., joins the Fellers in celebration of the Giant Steps Campaign.
Board of Trustees member Jennifer Evans and husband Jack Tankersley
Natalie Hurt, Wabash’s director of special events and donor stewardship, connects with Jordan ’11 and Kelly Brewer.
Associate Professor of Spanish Jane Hardy and Professor of Economics Peter Mikek
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Classics Professor Jeremy Hartnett, Special Assistant to the President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and English Professor Jill Lamberton, Jeremiah Clayton ’26, and Visiting Associate Professor of Spanish Julio Enríquez-Ornelas ’08.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Trustee Greg ’85 and Sarah Estell
Son of Freedom Scholarship for ROTC founders Tudo Pham, David Woessner ’01, and their son, Jonas Tane.
Son of Freedom Scholarship for ROTC founders Tudo Pham, David Woessner ’01, and their son, Jonas Tane.
Former Wabash President Greg Hess (left) returned to campus and joined guests in celebration of the Giant Steps Campaign.
Giant Steps Campaign Co-Chairs Paul ’75 and Betty O’Shaughnessy Woolls
Associate Professor of Political Science Ethan Hollander and Associate Professor of Economics Christie Byun
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Jordan ’11 and Kelly Brewer
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Professor of Chemistry Ann Taylor
Director of Cinematography and Digital Video Andrew Day and Costume Designer Allison Jones
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Trustee Frank ’82 and Lisa Kolisek
Ahad Khan ’19 and Director of International Programs Amy Weir
Associate Professor of Political Science Shamira Gelbman and Darrin Wright
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Professor of Political Science Emeritus David ’76 and Sheridan Hadley
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Classics Professor Jeremy Hartnett and Special Assistant to the President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and English Professor Jill Lamberton
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Bob and Kathy Buresh, founders of the Buresh Family Scholarship, with current members of the Wabash football team.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Jeremiah Clayton ’26 and Jonathan Walsh ’98
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Gary Reamey ’77
Noah McRoberts ’25 and Associate Professor of Religion David Blix ’70
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Stephenson Institute for Classical Liberalism Director Daniel D’Amico
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Director of Athletics and Campus Wellness Matt ’05 and Julia Tanney
Library Director Jeff Beck
Head Baseball Coach Jake Martin
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Emeritus Trustee Robert Wedgeworth ’59
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Malcolm X Institute of Black Studies Chairman Jordan Thomas ’24
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Jeremiah Clayton ’26 and Logan Weilbaker ’25 kept the crowd entertained as the emcees.
Jeremiah Clayton ’26 and Logan Weilbaker ’25
Wabash President Scott Feller
Wabash President Scott Feller
Wabash President Scott Feller
Classics Professor Jeremy Hartnett
Classics Professor Jeremy Hartnett
Wabash Football Quarterback Liam Thompson ’23
Wabash Football Quarterback Liam Thompson ’23
Gary Reamey ’77
Gary Reamey ’77
Professor of Chemistry Laura Wysocki
Professor of Chemistry Laura Wysocki
Noah McRoberts ’25
Noah McRoberts ’25
Cory Olson '85
Cory Olson '85
Associate Dean for Enrollment Management Alex DeLonis
Associate Dean for Enrollment Management Alex DeLonis
’shOUT President and Student Senate Vice President Luis Rivera ’25
’shOUT President and Student Senate Vice President Luis Rivera ’25
Wabash Trustee Bill ’85 and Jennifer Brady
Wabash Trustee Bill ’85 and Jennifer Brady
The Giant Steps Campaign was led by co-chairs Paul Woolls ’75 and Betty O’Shaughnessy Woolls and Steve ’68 and Joanie Bowen.
The Giant Steps Campaign was led by co-chairs Paul Woolls ’75 and Betty O’Shaughnessy Woolls and Steve ’68 and Joanie Bowen.
The Giant Steps Campaign was led by co-chairs Paul Woolls ’75 and Betty O’Shaughnessy Woolls and Steve ’68 and Joanie Bowen.
The Giant Steps Campaign was led by co-chairs Paul Woolls ’75 and Betty O’Shaughnessy Woolls and Steve ’68 and Joanie Bowen.
The Giant Steps Campaign was led by co-chairs Paul Woolls ’75 and Betty O’Shaughnessy Woolls and Steve ’68 and Joanie Bowen.
The Giant Steps Campaign was led by co-chairs Paul Woolls ’75 and Betty O’Shaughnessy Woolls and Steve ’68 and Joanie Bowen.
Trustee Chairman Jay ’79 and Susan Allen
Trustee Chairman Jay ’79 and Susan Allen
Trustee Chairman Jay ’79 and Susan Allen
Rev. C. Davies Reed '85
Jeremiah Clayton ’26 and Logan Weilbaker ’25
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
President Feller looks over his speech at the Giant Moment Celebration.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Hundreds of Wabash alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends came together at an event gala October 6, 2023, in Knowling Fieldhouse to celebrate the conclusion of Giant Steps.
Wabash College celebrated the conclusion of Giant Steps–the largest and most successful comprehensive campaign in its 191-year history–with a gala event Friday evening in Knowling Fieldhouse.
Since its open on July 1, 2017, to its conclusion on June 30, 2023, the Giant Steps Campaign raised more than $250,638,000 in gifts and pledges from 12,029 unique donors who made 82,272 gifts.
“This is a remarkable achievement in the long and storied history of Wabash College,” said President Scott E. Feller. “To exceed our audacious goal of $225 million for Giant Steps–through a presidential transition, the pandemic, and economic uncertainty that followed–speaks volumes about the generosity of our alumni and friends. Giant Steps has given us so much momentum as we look to our bicentennial in 2032.”
The Giant Steps Campaign was led by co-chairs Paul Woolls ’75 and Betty O’Shaughnessy Woolls and Steve ’68 and Joanie Bowen; presidential families Gregory and Lora Hess and Scott and Wendy Feller; and staffed by Dean for College Advancement Michelle Janssen and Campaign Director Joe Klen.
“When we undertook the process of raising twice the amount of the goal of the College’s last campaign during the early days of Giant Steps, Betty and I quietly hoped that we could at least get close to $225 million,” said Paul Woolls, a retired attorney who now owns Progeny Winery in Napa, California. “We need not have worried. Thanks to the generosity and resolve of the Wabash nation, the campaign exceeded the $225 million goal by a full 15 percent.”
The Woolls’ $40 million gift kick-started Giant Steps at the public launch in November 2018, at which time the College had secured $150 million in funding. “It has been an honor to serve with such a dedicated group of volunteer leaders,” said Betty Woolls, a former real estate developer who founded O’Shaughnessy Estate Winery in Napa in 1996. “We have bonded as a group and are greatly pleased by the results of this historic effort.”
Focused on strengthening opportunities for Wabash students and faculty through investment in scholarships, endowed professorships and program funds, the College’s Annual Fund, and capital projects, Giant Steps delivered by raising more than $313,000 per student and nearly $18,000 per alumnus. Respectively, those figures rank seventh and 19th nationally among liberal arts colleges with campaigns in the same time frame.
“My colleagues in Advancement are astounded by the extraordinary results of the Giant Steps Campaign—clearly we punched way above our weight given our size,” said Dean Janssen. “I attribute our astounding success to a donor- and relationship-focused Campaign Executive Cabinet whose unstinting generosity and commitment has no comparable peer.”
During Giant Steps, Wabash established 123 new endowed funds, including six endowed professorships and faculty chairs; 36 academic department, internship, special program, and immersion experience funds; and 81 new scholarship funds.
Two new academic majors were established through Giant Steps – computer science and philosophy, politics, and economics (PPE)–and 10 new student initiatives or centers were funded, including the Center for Innovation, Business, and Entrepreneurship; Global Health Initiative; Greater Chicagoland Initiative; President’s Distinguished Speaker Series; Stephenson Institute for Classical Liberalism; Wabash Democracy and Public Discourse; Walsh Center for Political Economy; Wabash Liberal Arts Immersion Program, and the Wabash Women’s Collective.
“Receiving more than 82,000 gifts from 12,000 benefactors is a very clear vote of confidence in the important work our faculty, staff, and coaches do each day to educate, mentor, and guide our students,” Klen said. “I thank all who took part in Giant Steps and call on them and others to continue to strengthen all we do at Wabash with annual philanthropic generosity. This ongoing support will add to the momentum created by the campaign and position the College for even greater success in our third century.”
While capital projects were not the focus of Giant Steps, Wabash built stunning new student housing in the Ott Residential Life District and remodeled Martindale Hall; a new campus gateway was dedicated, along with the construction of the Shelbourne Wrestling Center and Little Giant Stadium, while the Allen Athletics and Recreation Center got major upgrades in its weight and fitness rooms and Chadwick Court.
“The Giant Steps campaign provided funding for scholarships, faculty and academic programs, immersive experiences, and our physical campus,” said Steve Bowen, a retired attorney and former chair of the Wabash Board of Trustees. “My wife Joanie and I were honored to help lead this historic effort and are astounded at the remarkable response from alumni and benefactors from far and wide.”