Agnes Scott College Launches Ring Leaders, a $120 million Comprehensive Campaign
DECATUR, Georgia – Building on more than a century of excellence and innovation, Agnes Scott College proudly announces the public launch of Ring Leaders: The Campaign for Agnes Scott—a bold step toward a bright future grounded in purpose and driven by possibility.
Named for the distinctive onyx ring worn by generations of Agnes Scott students, colloquially called Scotties, Ring Leaders is the largest and most ambitious campaign in the college’s history, with a $120 million goal to advance Agnes Scott’s top strategic priorities: Student Success, world-class Teaching and Learning and high-demand Graduate Programs that respond to workforce needs and help shape Georgia’s professional landscape. “This campaign is truly comprehensive, designed to meet the evolving needs of students and ensure that Agnes Scott remains a place where bold dreams are nurtured and brilliant futures are realized for generations to come,” explains President Leocadia I. Zak.
With an average of 94 percent of students employed or enrolled in graduate school within one year of graduation, student success remains a defining outcome of the Agnes Scott experience. Fifty percent of the Ring Leaders campaign goal is dedicated to expanding student success initiatives, including scholarships, first-generation student support, student wellness and flexible opportunity funds to address emerging needs. Scotties reflect a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds, and for more than 15 years, no single racial majority has been represented on campus. Nearly 30 percent are first-generation college students and 47 percent are Pell-eligible, underscoring the importance of the campaign’s $60 million investment in scholarships and support systems to ensure that every student has the resources and opportunities to thrive at Agnes Scott and beyond.
Since 1889, Agnes Scott has delivered a transformative education that connects women to opportunity. Today, the college advances this commitment through Summit, Agnes Scott’s acclaimed liberal arts education focused on global learning, leadership development and professional success. With a goal of $35 million to support undergraduate Teaching and Learning, Ring Leaders will strengthen this innovative curricular framework and the high-impact practices that define the Summit experience, including Global Journeys and the Sophomore Class Atlanta Leadership Experience (SCALE). Global Journeys is a signature first-year experience that introduces students to global learning through immersive travel, interdisciplinary coursework and real-world engagement with diverse cultures. SCALE connects sophomores with Atlanta’s leading corporations and nonprofits for a professional experiential learning opportunity. These core curricular elements of Summit are delivered universally at no additional cost to students, making donor support essential to sustaining and expanding access to these high-impact opportunities for every Scottie.
Agnes Scott’s alumnae, friends and philanthropic partners have contributed more than $80 million toward the campaign’s goal, including a $15 million gift to the college’s new Physician Assistant (PA) graduate program from alumna and trustee emerita Mary Lou Cornwall Hawkes ’65 and her husband, James B. Hawkes—the largest gift in the college’s history. Established as the Mary Lou Cornwall Hawkes ’65 and James B. Hawkes Physician Assistant (PA) Program in recognition of their transformational investment, the PA program will welcome its inaugural cohort this fall. Building on decades of success in the medical sciences, Agnes Scott’s PA program is designed to address critical workforce gaps in the regional healthcare landscape. The Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce has identified the state primary care shortage area that meets less than 40 percent of citizen health care needs, and demand for physician assistants is projected to grow 34 percent in Metro Atlanta within the next decade—outpacing the national average by nearly 26 percent. Investing $25 million in this innovative graduate program will not only strengthen health outcomes across Georgia, but drive access to meaningful careers and long-term economic mobility for the next generation of purpose-driven healthcare practitioners.
More than 70 percent of Agnes Scott’s undergraduate and graduate students are from Georgia, and both the Summit undergraduate curriculum and graduate programs are intentionally designed to expand pathways to career advancement and social mobility within their home state. The Ring Leaders campaign priorities directly advance this strategy, strengthening the college’s impact across the state and region by expanding access to a transformative education and impactful professional development opportunities that prepare students to lead meaningful change in their communities.
The success of Ring Leaders will play a critical role in advancing Agnes Scott’s mission, reaffirming the college’s leadership in women’s higher education and shaping a new generation of courageous, compassionate, world-changing leaders who wear their rings with pride. As Elizabeth Hardy Noe ’86, chair of the Board of Trustees and campaign co-chair, explains, “support for the Ring Leaders campaign will help ensure that Agnes Scott’s mission and purpose remain unwavering as we prepare Scotties to claim their place as leaders driving change in a global society.” Fellow co-chair Julia Houston echoes this sentiment: “I am grateful for this opportunity to help the college advance its mission and to celebrate the powerful connection of the onyx ring.” Reflecting on her experience in the Scottiehood, co-chair Tiffany M. Nuriddin ’07 adds, “I benefited tremendously from the amazing environment at Agnes Scott and I want to do my part to help future generations of Scotties succeed through our community’s generosity.”
To learn more about Ring Leaders: The Campaign for Agnes Scott, please visit agnesscott.edu/giving.
About Agnes Scott College
Agnes Scott is a nationally acclaimed liberal arts college located in Decatur, Georgia—minutes from Atlanta’s dynamic tech and corporate hubs, influential civic organizations and world-class cultural institutions. Driven by a mission to educate women to think deeply, live honorably and engage the intellectual and social challenges of their times, Agnes Scott offers students a rigorous academic foundation with an innovative, globally focused Summit undergraduate curriculum and high-demand graduate studies programs proven to prepare students for professional success.
Recognized as a national leader in innovation and academic excellence, Agnes Scott has been ranked the No. 1 Most Innovative liberal arts college in the country for an unprecedented eight years in a row by U.S. News & World Report. This year, the college ranked No. 2 for First-Year Experiences, No. 4 for Social Mobility and is in the top 10 for Undergraduate Teaching. With a strong commitment to access, equity and intellectual curiosity, Agnes Scott prepares graduates to excel in high-demand fields and to lead lives of purpose. To learn more about Agnes Scott College, please visit agnesscott.edu.
