For the past six years, the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation have been building toward an extraordinary milestone that unfolded in the fall of 2018—the public launch of Called to Serve, Daring to Lead: The Naval Academy Campaign, a historic effort that will help shape the future of the Naval Academy and the midshipman and alumni experience. Our Fiscal Year 2018 financial results and the tangible evidence of our efforts to serve and support the Naval Academy and Brigade of Midshipmen reflect the remarkable momentum and purpose created by this historic endeavor.
As a result of the generous contributions of alumni like you, we were able to provide more than $26.3 million in support to the Academy this past year: $10.5 million to academic programs, $8.2 million to athletics, $4.2 million to character development and leadership programs, $1.7 million to admissions excellence, $1.1 million in unrestricted resources and more than $600,000 to other programs. The impact of this support is visible in the changing landscape of the Academy, including the progress on Hopper Hall, whose full outfitting will depend on private investment. We’ve also witnessed the rapid advancement of the Physical Mission Center and continued to support improvements at the Naval Academy Golf Course and Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Your impact is also evident in Academy programming, with 340 midshipmen expected to participate in international study this year; expansion of the Boeing Leadership Innovation Lab, Class of 1977 Gettysburg Leadership Encounter, National Outdoor Leadership School opportunities and other leadership development programs; and continued reach of Class of 1963 Center for Academic Excellence and admissions excellence programs, including Summer STEM opportunities for middle and high school students. Our Athletic and Scholarship Programs division helped 50 promising young men and women join the Brigade after a year of additional prep school development. These initiatives and many others benefiting from your support have direct connections to the Academy’s strategic priorities and overarching mission.
Strengthening alumni, parent and friend engagement is a key element in building the culture of philanthropy for the Naval Academy. Alumni Association membership now stands at approximately 60,500, and we have continued to expand and strengthen alumni programs and services. The Naval Academy Minority Association has joined Run to Honor and USNA Women as a shared interest group. We also launched the Distinguished Club and Chapter Awards to showcase those demonstrating best practices in regional alumni and parent programming and revised and improved the Distinguished Graduate Award selection process. The Alumni Mentoring Program, established in 2012 as the 50th reunion class legacy gift of the Class of 1969, now includes more than 3,000 mentors and protégés, from 2,700 in 2018 and 2,100 in 2017. More than 8,500 people attended class reunion programming last year, while nearly 13,700 attended a home or away tailgate or chapter or club event tied to a football game. We can reach 85 percent of our alumni by email, continue to invest in the quality of Shipmate and are always looking for new and different ways to help alumni, parents and other friends affirm their connections to the Academy. We consider each of these initiatives integral to our efforts to serve our alumni community and strengthen not just the global alumni network today, but the foundation for future investment in the Academy and its mission.
These efforts also included continued and deepened investment in our own future as an enterprise. We’ve accomplished a great deal, especially in the last few years, but there is much work still to be done. We are committed to executing with intent and have worked to ensure our organization is best positioned to address the challenges and opportunities ahead. We launched a redesigned, easier-to-navigate www.usna.com. We supported the campaign with a highly visible, multi-channel marketing campaign unprecedented for our organization. We advanced plans for a future Alumni Association and Foundation Center to better serve your needs and pursue our shared missions by bringing our organization together under one roof, offering space for alumni to gather and celebrate and showcase alumni achievements. With the lease for the property secured and the initial design process under way, we are scheduled to break ground on the project in 2020.
The coming months promise to be a period of great excitement and change for the Naval Academy community as we welcome both a new Superintendent and new Commandant of Midshipmen, Captain Thomas R. “T.R.” Buchanan ’92, USN. We and our fellow Alumni Association and Foundation leaders are profoundly grateful to Superintendent Vice Admiral Walter E. “Ted” Carter Jr. ’81, USN, and Commandant Rear Admiral (Select) Captain Robert Chadwick ’91, USN, for their partnership and inspirational leadership. We look forward to providing continuity and stability in our support of the Academy mission through this transition.
A detailed look at our audited financial statements from fiscal year 2018 is available here, and highlights have been shared in the accompanying charts on this page. On behalf of all members of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Board of Trustees and U.S. Naval Academy Foundation Board of Directors, we encourage your close review and appreciate your engaged support for our enterprise.
Thank you and Go Navy!
Admiral Samuel J. Locklear III ’77, USN (Ret.)
Chairman, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association Board of Trustees
Daniel F. Akerson ’70
Chairman, U.S. Naval Academy Foundation Board of Directors
Byron F. Marchant ’78
President and CEO, U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association and Foundation