Marshall University Foundation
Marshall University Foundation, Inc.
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Huntington, WV 25755
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Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2005
Contact: Dave Wellman, Director of Communications, (304) 696-7153
Galardi named Director of Major Gifts for MU Society of Yeager Scholars
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Robert N. Galardi, Director of Development since 2002 with the West Virginia University Extension Service, has been named Director of Major Gifts for the Society of Yeager Scholars at Marshall University.
“This is a career opportunity,” Galardi, a Pittsburgh native and graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, said. “It allows me to continue doing what I love to do – raise money in an academic environment to help West Virginia kids go to school.”
The Society of Yeager Scholars is a program that provides a scholarship for students that includes tuition and fees, room and board, a stipend for books and supplies, a study abroad experience and the use of a personal computer. The four-year scholarship is awarded as long as the student maintains a 3.5 GPA and an honors course load. The program is named for U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager, who is a native of Hamlin, W.Va.
Galardi has set his goals high at Marshall. “We have two years until the 20th anniversary of the Yeager Society,” he said. “This milestone presents the opportunity to raise sufficient private funds to restore the number of Yeager Scholars to its original number of 20 annual recipients. That’s something I’ll be presenting to our board.”
Galardi has many accomplishments throughout his 26 year fundraising career. In recent years he:
- Developed, trained volunteers, and implemented a $7 million capital campaign for the Johnstown (Pa.) Area Heritage Association;
- Successfully cultivated, solicited and closed two $1 million gifts: one for the Johnstown Area Heritage Association’s capital campaign, the second for West Virginia University;
- Closed the largest private gift received by WVU-Jackson’s Mill. It was a $200,000 donation for the WVU-Jackson’s Mill “Save Our Pool” capital campaign;
- Raised more than $3 million in major gifts at WVU Extension Service. This amount put WVU Extension Service over its “Building Greatness Capital Campaign” goal of $2.5 million. The goal was achieved nine months before the campaign deadline. The final amount raised for the Extension Service’s “Building Greatness Capital Campaign” topped $3.1 million;
- Working with the board of directors and staff, developed and implemented an innovative major gifts campaign strategy at the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, resulting in the three largest major private gifts in the history of the Association;
- Began and completed a $465,000 “Save Our Pool Campaign,” and a $210,000 “Northern Panhandle Cottage Renovation Campaign” at Jackson’s Mill.
“Supporters of the Yeager program who choose to take a close look are always impressed with the caliber of students we attract,” Glen Kerkian, Marshall Foundation Inc. President and CEO, said. “With the innovative Board that is currently in place and a seasoned fundraiser like Bob Galardi, our expectations for increased private dollars for Yeager are heightened.”
Recent honors for Galardi include the “2005 Outstanding Individual Employee Excellence Award” for successfully completing three privately funded capital campaigns for WVU Extension Service, and the “2004 West Virginia 4-H All Star Award of Appreciation” for successfully completing the “Save Our Pool Campaign” at WVU Jackson’s Mill.
Galardi earned a B.A. degree in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh. He is the father of two children – Jack, 21, who plans to attend the Marshall University Graduate College, and Diane, 19, who is a freshman at Boston University.