On Saturday, Oct. 8, Biola University alumni and friends of the university gathered in Portland, Ore. for Biola’s 12th Campaign National Tour event for “A Soul of Conviction, A Voice of Courage: The Campaign for Biola University” — a $180 million comprehensive fundraising campaign to raise support for student scholarships, facilities, academic centers and online learning. Due to a generous match gift and those in attendance at recent tour events, the campaign total has now reached $179 million committed.

 

Approximately 80 guests attended the event, hosted at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry near Tilikum Crossing and the Willamette River.

 

The keynote speaker for the evening was evangelist Luis Palau. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Palau is a preacher based in Portland who has reached more than 1 billion people worldwide with the message of salvation through radio, television, print and digital media.

 

Palau shared about the importance of a university like Biola in the midst of a changing culture that is growing more hostile to biblically centered values. He believes that Biola is a model for all Christ-centered schools in the U.S. in regards to the integration of faith and learning, and he applauded the university's commitment to upholding Christian values.

 

After he concluded his keynote, Corey briefly introduced guests to the details of the comprehensive fundraising campaign, including the focus on both student affordability and the Alton and Lydia Lim Center for Science, Technology and Health.

 

“This is the most ambitious campaign in Biola’s history, with our goal of $180 million, which is nearly 10 times larger than our previous largest fundraising campaign,” said Corey. “But this campaign is not just about bricks and mortar, but about putting Biola into a better position to carry on its important task of raising up the next generation of Christian leaders in key spheres of society.”  

 

More than $35,000 was raised at the Portland event to support Biola’s bold vision for the future, partly due to a match gift by a donor. To date, the Campaign National Tour has raised more than $700,000 from the national tour events and subsequent gifts by attendees.

 

The Campaign National Tour continues this fall with three final stops in Denver, Los Angeles and Chicago. For more information about the tour and future events, visit giving.biola.edu/nationaltour/.

 

Written by Chris Johnson, campaign marketing manager. For more information, contact Jenna Loumagne, manager of media relations, at (562) 777-4061 or jenna.loumagne@biola.edu.