SUNY Plattsburgh Cardinals Thrive Campaign Surpasses $1 Million Challenge Goal

At the close of business June 30, the Plattsburgh College Foundation’s “Cardinals Thrive: Creating and Sustaining Success” campaign found itself in excess of $2 million  — nearly $1.5 million over the initial challenge made by a Class of 1976 alumna.

Alumna Cindy Kahn Kansky of Newport Beach, Calif., provided a $1 million gift to jump start the campaign, challenging the foundation to raise an additional $1 million in gifts from alumni and friends. At the campaign’s conclusion, $1,496,000 more was raised in support of SUNY Plattsburgh students.

Karen McGrath, SUNY Plattsburgh vice president for enrollment and student success, made a $5,000 gift in the campaign’s final stretch to bring the total over goal.

“The incredible outpouring for the Cardinals Thrive campaign is a true expression of commitment to the overall well-being and success of our students during their Plattsburgh experience and their lifetime,” McGrath said. “The support and development that Cardinals receive along their journey will be enhanced and enriched by this generosity.

Believes in the Mission

“Personally, I supported the campaign, as I believe in the mission of SUNY Plattsburgh and our genuine pledge to provide intentional wraparound services and programming while offering meaningful experiences that change lives,” she said. “Overall well-being enhances how students live, learn, engage and, ultimately, thrive.”

Launched Jan. 1, 2024, Cardinals Thrive set out to foster positive student outcomes by increasing resources to address student needs holistically, McGrath said. It offered opportunities to invest in university resources related to eight areas of well-being that are key predictors of students’ ability to grow, learn and thrive. These include financial, physical, emotional, social, academic, spiritual, occupational and environmental well-being.

“There’s no limit to how this initiative can help propel programming,” Kansky said. “It will take students' experiences to the next level and set them up for lifelong journeys of good health, wellness and well-being — the keys to student success.”

Kansky’s gift, which she has arranged for in the form of a bequest, honors her late husband, Bill Kansky ’76, whom she met while they were both students at Plattsburgh. Bill passed away unexpectedly in 2008 from cardiac arrest at age 53.

Health, Wellness ‘Near and Dear’

“Health and wellness will always be near and dear to my heart,” Kansky said. “I felt this was a great way to honor a legacy by paying it forward.”

The Cardinal community rose to Kansky’s matching-gift challenge, with 2,277 alumni, friends, faculty and staff making gifts to Cardinals Thrive.

“Cindy Kansky's amazing philanthropy was the catalyst to the fundraising effort. She pushed us to think in new ways about how the foundation supports student success and how we can support student well-being more holistically, so students graduate and enjoy lifelong success,” said Anne Whitmore Hansen, SUNY Plattsburgh vice president of institutional advancement and foundation executive director. “Karen McGrath's leadership was instrumental in shaping the campaign with a clear vision and road map highlighting all the ways that students must be supported in order to succeed for the long haul.

“So many campus leaders who are on the front line, supporting students every day, helped us to communicate the incredible services that are provided and the urgent need for expanded programming,” Hansen said. “And the institutional advancement team, working closely with our generous alumni and friends, brought the campaign home with more than $2.5 million raised in total.”

Eight Priorities

Excluding Kansky’s challenge gift, which she directed to the university’s Student Health and Counseling Center to promote both physical and emotional well-being, total donor investments in resources related to each of the campaign’s eight priorities are as follows:

• Financial well-being, which includes funding to the Plattsburgh Fund, North Country Scholarship Program, Student Emergency Grant Fund, and Cardinal Cupboard food shelf: $1,006,696
• Social well-being, which includes funding for scholarships, campus housing and community living, diversity, equity and inclusion, fraternity and sorority life and the Global Education Office: $249,420
• Physical well-being includes funding for the Student Health and Counseling Center, health promotion, Cardinal Cupboard, fitness center, rec sports and Cardinal athletics: $165,155
• Intellectual well-being, including funding for merit scholarships, faculty development, academic advising, Learning Center, Honors Center and Institute for Ethics in Public Life: $26,554
• Environmental well-being, including funding for the Hawkins Pond Living Learning Lab, Damianous Nursing Skills Lab and the Honors Center: $24,780
• Emotional well-being, including funds for the Student Health and Counseling Center, Student Support Services, and diversity, equity and inclusion: $11,955
• Occupational well-being, including funds for the Career Development Center, EOP CareerEdge, and applied learning grants: $11,473
• Spiritual well-being includes funding for the Plattsburgh State Gospel Choir and the Jewish studies program $1,735

"Plattsburgh has a proud history of and rock solid reputation for providing incredible support to our students,” Hansen said. “Supporting student success is truly at the core of our identity and mission. So it feels absolutely amazing to highlight this campus-wide commitment through the campaign and to know that together, we can help all Cardinals thrive."

To learn more about Cardinals Thrive, visit www.plattsburgh.edu/cardinalsthrive.