During the 2024-2025 academic year, the generosity and involvement of RPI donors accelerated our progress in four strategic areas of growth: strengthening and extending education, scaling research excellence, deepening community and partnerships, and rebuilding our campus to achieve our goals.
These focus areas represent the four pillars of RPI Forward: A Campaign for Our Third Century, the second $750 million phase of our $1.5 billion campaign launched in fall 2025. The campaign pillars will guide our growth and investment in support of students over the next decade.
GIVING AND ENDOWMENT HIGHLIGHTS
“Looking back at fiscal year 2025, which ran from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, the generous support of the RPI community was a high point, helping RPI achieve one of its best fundraising years ever and fuel growth and transformation on campus. Most importantly, the $70.9 million raised was a powerful reflection of the ways that our alumni, parents, and friends are engaging with RPI to help move the Institute forward.”
Matthew Ter Molen
Vice President
Institute Advancement
TOTAL RAISED
DONORS
GIFTS
TOP FUNDING AREAS
Teaching and Research
Area of Greatest Need
Scholarships and Fellowships
Student Experience and Athletics
Campus Facilities
General Institutional Support
IN GRATITUDE FOR YOUR SUPPORT
“The success of our campaign will require commitment from our community at all levels, as well as the hard work required to ensure success. Fiscal year 2025 was a launching point for our Institute. I truly look forward to all that lies ahead as we put our plans into action. Thank you, as always, for being part of this ambitious journey and for your dedicated philanthropic support of RPI.”
Martin A. Schmidt ’81, Ph.D.
President Professor of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
2025 Donor Highlights
Strengthening and Extending Education
Expanding access and affordability through scholarships, and delivering an unrivaled student experience
During the 2024-2025 academic year, RPI distributed more than $8.18 million in scholarship funding provided through 1,047 endowed and expendable scholarships. Additionally, over $850,000 in endowed fellowship funding was awarded to 30 graduate students. These scholarships and fellowships were made possible by the generosity of RPI donors like you
Our student-athletes benefitted from the support of Linda Pitzi Jojo ’87, ’92G and Robert Jojo ’87G, who created the RPI Athletics Sports Performance Fund, the Women’s Basketball Coaching Staff Support Fund, and the Carol Stiff Head Coach of Women’s Basketball Endowment to help elevate the women’s basketball and RPI Athletics program to new heights.
RPI recently launched RU Impact, a new annual giving program dedicated to supporting student clubs and organizations on campus. During fiscal year 2025, we raised $820,000, investing in the student experience by empowering current students to explore their interests and build meaningful connections outside of the classroom.
Scaling Research Excellence
Fueling innovative instruction and growing our research enterprise by investing in faculty, graduate students, and postdocs
A new fellowship, the Dr. James M. Tien ’66 Dean’s Faculty Fellows in Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems, was created to recognize outstanding junior or mid-career faculty members at the intersection of engineering and management.
The Lally School of Management established the Kay and Jackson Tai ’72 Endowed Chair in Finance, Risk, and Advanced Computing, a cornerstone of RPI’s newly extended finance major. The chair will position Lally at the forefront of emerging trends in financial technology, artificial intelligence, and data-driven decision-making.
Through the support of Justine and Jim Mullen ’80, RPI launched the Strength in Computational Biology Fund. The fund will support research grants aiming to catalyze innovative research initiatives that build on RPI’s existing strengths and contribute foundational knowledge advancing life science-related products and services.
RPI celebrated the first endowed deanship in the institute’s history in 2025: the Thomas R. Farino Jr. ’67 and Patricia E. Farino Dean of the School of Engineering. The position provides Dean Shekhar Garde, Ph.D., and future deans with the flexible resources needed to support innovative ideas in emerging fields.
Deepening Community and Partnerships
Increasing meaningful engagement with our alumni and developing partnerships that drive growth in the Capital Region
RPI established the Ajit Prabhu Catalyst Endowment and the Ajit Prabhu Catalyst Fund, both in support of the Office of Strategic Alliances and Translation (OSAT), with a transformative gift from Ajit Prabhu ’98. The philanthropic pre-venture fund will help RPI students and faculty transform groundbreaking ideas into market-ready ventures.
OSAT also introduced the Bala Excellence Fund for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Bala Catalyst Incubator Fund, and the Bala Student Innovation Prize Fund, established by Karthik Bala ’97 and Guha Bala. These new funds will provide support for students and student-led startups developing innovative ideas and engaged in RPI’s incubator and accelerator activities.
More than 21,500 alumni engaged with RPI in fiscal year 2025 through giving, chapter and RPI event attendance, volunteerism, social media, and more — representing a 12% increase in engagement from fiscal year 2024.
Rebuilding Our Campus to Achieve Our Goals
Renovating and expanding RPI’s built environment to facilitate growth through infrastructure
In fall 2025, RPI celebrated the grand opening of the Rensselaer Union’s newly renovated lower level — now officially named the Rathskeller Events Center. The transformation was completed in August of 2025 thanks to a combination of Rensselaer Union approved student activity dollars as well as the Institute’s capital projects funding. Additional support has been pledged by the Class of 1979, which aims to raise $250,000 for the Rathskeller Events Center Fund as the centerpiece of their 50th reunion gift.
Installed in spring 2024, RPI’s IBM Quantum System One is available to all members of theRPI community, offering students, faculty, and campus partners transformational opportunities to learn, research, and solve complex problems. RPI’s Quantum Computing Club currently has 500 undergraduate members helping drive a quantum revolution at RPI and beyond.
The Douglas Jensen ’59 Materials Discovery Laboratory for faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and students working in AI-and quantum-driven materials discovery was launched in 2025. Funding was provided by the late Doug Jensen ’59, who helped support the space renovation, capital equipment, and more.