Sun’s out, fun’s out.
Wednesday was a beautiful, mild sunny day at Monmouth College, adding to the free-spirited vibe the campus community shared during the 9th Annual Scots Day of Giving, which had a theme of “This Is Monmouth’s Moment.”
By the end of the 18-hour, 53-minute celebration, 916 donors had combined to donate $350,701 to Monmouth College, surpassing the donor goal and establishing new Scots Day of Giving fundraising record.
“Scots Day is about more than numbers, though – it’s about coming together as a community, honoring our past, and building a bright future for the next generation of Scots,” said Director of Alumni Engagement Jen Armstrong. “Whether you cheered on the Fighting Scots, gathered with friends on the steps of Wallace Hall, or wore your tartan with pride, today was your day to give back and keep those traditions alive.”
Coffee and cream
Earlier in the day, just outside Scots Day headquarters in the Center for Science and Business, cotton candy was available and inflatables housing basketball hoops and “axe” throwing were set up. A kiosk for Innkeeper’s, a coffee shop in Galesburg run by alumni Ben ’16 and Jessica Irons Ketchum ’17, was peddling its wares, which were free of charge with a Scots Nation donation.
Speaking of which, alumni and friends from all 50 states made gifts during the day. The final two to come in were Rhode Island and Alaska.
And speaking of coffee, the first 75 donors of the morning earned a bag of Scots Roast coffee beans, specially crafted for his alma mater by Brian Franklin ’95, founder of DoubleShot Coffee in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Donors giving $75 or more will be sent a pair of spirited Scots socks.
Another highlight in the “Amped Up Amphitheater” setting was the opportunity to “Pie a Preacher, Pie a Professor,” featuring the college’s chaplain, the Rev. John Huxtable, and Dean of the Faculty Mark Willhardt, a former English professor at Monmouth.
“Have I mentioned I’m lactose intolerant?” said Willhardt, as the first plates of whipped cream were prepared.
“Then why do you do this?” asked Troy Hippen, assistant director of the Monmouth Fund, which was one of four beneficiaries of the financial support throughout the day.
“I do this for the love of Monmouth College,” said Willhardt, who’s worked for the school since 2000, when he overlapped on the English faculty with his father, Gary Willhardt. Both of the dean’s parents graduated from Monmouth.
An ice cream social was held later in the same spot, and the dean partook, casting serious doubt on his intolerancy claim.
Meanwhile, Huxtable could be found spinning around campus in the golf cart known as the Tartan Trivia Trolley, giving rides around campus while student volunteers, including Payton Crims ’27, quizzed the occupants on such historical nuggets as Marshall Hall, the Pole Scrap, the Civil War cannon, and a pair of former science buildings, McMichael Hall and H-T.
Investing in Monmouth College
A live Facebook feed just happened to be in the neighborhood as students Lea Selquist ’25 and Turner Plumer ’26 pitched the first pie plates at Huxtable and Willhardt.
“They’re doing this for a good cause,” said emcee Hannah Maher, Monmouth’s vice president for development and college relations, referring to Huxtable and Willhardt and the small fee that students paid for the privilege to pie them.
“I can’t think of a better investment than investing in the students of Monmouth,” said President Patricia Draves, Maher’s co-host for the live feed, as she addressed Scots Nation. “Thank you for supporting the projects that are important to our students.”
In addition to the Monmouth Fund, the Fighting Scots Society received funds to renovate the softball diamond. Gifts were also funneled to two other causes. One was the senior class gift, as Monmouth’s Class of 2025 is leaving a legacy with a new outdoor basketball court. The project received a boost from a 3:1 matching gift from the former chair of Monmouth’s board of trustees, Bill Goldsborough ’65.
The other cause was the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium, which has stood for well over a century – making it the site of countless Monmouth moments. It will receive a new sound system.
“If you’ve ever sat there, waiting for your name at roll call or being swept up in the holiday spirit at ‘Christmas at Monmouth,’ you know how special this place is,” said Armstrong.
She was talking about the chapel but, really, that statement applies to all of Monmouth College. And on Scots Day 2025, it truly was a great day to be a Scot.
***Courtesy of Barry McNamara, Monmouth College***
