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Juniata College Launches $150 Million 'Our Promise' Campaign, Announces Major Gifts
(Posted November 4, 2026)
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President Troha addresses the crowd at the October 23rd event.
Photo by Nate Thompson
President Troha addresses the crowd at the October 23rd event.
Photo by Nate Thompson
HUNTINGDON, Pa. — Juniata College announced its new fundraising campaign at a dinner event held on campus on Friday, October 23, with over 200 people in attendance, including members of the Board of Trustees and other donors. The event signaled the public stage of the campaign Our Promise: Building Juniata’s Legacy Together. The goal of raising $150 million makes this the largest campaign undertaken by the College in its history.
Chris Thompson ’87, member of the board of trustees and chair of the advancement committee, announced that the College has already raised over $122 million in total commitments during the silent phase of the campaign.
Several lead gifts were announced during the event. A short video highlighted a significant multimillion-dollar gift from Sarah Svigals Kriess ’07 and Jason Kriess for the new nursing and healthcare facility. The building, which will be located on 17th street, will house Juniata’s nursing program and primary and specialty healthcare providers for the local community. In memory of Sarah’s parents, the building will be called the Svigals (pronounced “Svee-gals”) Center.
“Juniata changed the trajectory of my life,” Kreiss says in the video shared Friday night. “My investment in this campus reflects the investment it gave to me.” Kriess works as a physician assistant in an emergency room in Auburn, Washington.
Several donors have given or pledged money to support the building and the nursing program, including board member Dan '88 and Kerry Sunderland with a gift of $1 million.
Many individuals have directed future gifts to Juniata through their estate plans. President James A. Troha highlighted an extraordinary gift from board member Bruce ’75 and Patricia Jones that will be worth $15 million and another from board member Nicole Close ’92 which is calculated to be worth $7 million. More than $60 million in planned or estate gifts have been pledged during the campaign, which Troha described as “a powerful foundation of support for Juniata College stretching well into the future.”
In addition to building the Svigals Center, funds raised through the campaign will support academic programs; expand student scholarships; renovate academic buildings and residence halls; and enhance athletic programs.
At the conclusion of the evening, it was announced that President Troha and his wife Jennifer Troha have made a $1 million unrestricted commitment to the Our Promise campaign.
President Troha encouraged guests to be bold in their thinking, “We must be willing to take risks, to be courageous in our actions, and bold in our vision. That is the spirit of this campaign.”
If you are interested in learning more about the campaign, please contact the Advancement office at Juniata College, by email at advancement@juniata.edu or by calling Mat Stoudnour, associate vice president for advancement at (814) 641-3191.
Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.