by Staff Writer
McDaniel College has received a historic $15 million bequest, the largest in its history, from late alumnus Jonas Eshelman, Class of 1950. The gift was announced during the college’s Founders Society Gala on October 10, along with the public launch of a $50 million campaign titled “Reaching New Heights: The Campaign for McDaniel College.”
Nearly 200 attendees—including trustees, alumni, parents, and community partners—gathered on campus for McDaniel’s Founders Society Gala, which marked a significant moment in the college’s future.
Eshelman’s $15 million estate gift will establish an endowment supporting academic excellence and unrestricted college priorities. Part of the gift will fund a new endowed professorship in computer science, aided by a $2 million matching grant from the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative Fund. It will also support classroom and lab improvements.
Eshelman, who passed away in 2023 at age 95, was a Navy veteran from Hagerstown, Maryland. He majored in economics at McDaniel (then Western Maryland College) and later built a successful career in retail and real estate before retiring in Florida. He was also known for his passion for landscape oil painting.
“This record-breaking gift will have a profound impact on the educational experience of our students,” said McDaniel College President Julia Jasken.
McDaniel College President Julia Jasken speaks on the college’s future, “A portion of this gift has been designated to significantly focus on academic excellence — both now and into the future. It demonstrates what is possible when donors believe in the power of a McDaniel education. The Eshelman gift also gives us tremendous momentum as we head into the public phase of our ‘Reaching New Heights’ campaign.”
The “Reaching New Heights” campaign aims to raise $50 million by May 31, 2028, and supports the college’s strategic plan, endorsed by the Board of Trustees in 2022. So far, over $40 million in gifts and pledges has been secured.
Projects already underway include facilities for nursing, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and early childhood education; an upgraded outdoor track and field complex; experiential learning grants; and expanded community partnerships.
“The goals for the ‘Reaching New Heights’ campaign are bold, and they should be. This is a defining moment for McDaniel,” said Jasken. “Our students are full of potential, and our aspirations for them — and for the college — should match that promise.”
The campaign is co-chaired by Trustee Debbie Dale Seidel ’84 and her husband, Ethan Seidel, professor emeritus of economics and business administration. For more information, visit mcdaniel.edu.
