90th Birthday Campaign

90th Birthday Campaign Hero Image

The Riley Institute at Furman University is truly honored to work every day with Secretary Riley to advance his principles and priorities in South Carolina and beyond. In January 2023 with the celebration of Secretary Riley’s 90th birthday, the Riley Institute launched a campaign to raise $3-5 million to grow and support our work that will span through late 2024 as we celebrate our 25th anniversary.

Join us in celebrating the immense impact Dick Riley continues to have on South Carolina, the nation, and Furman. Help support the Institute’s work — all of which is inspired by Dick Riley’s unwavering commitment to equity and education and spans more than 25 programs — and honor this great man and Furman alumnus.

If you’d like to learn more about honoring Secretary Riley and supporting this effort, visit our giving page. From there, you can make a gift to the Institute, make a pledge for later, or be put in touch with a member of our development team.

Make a gift

Flagship programs that your gift would support include our:

  • Diversity Leaders Initiative, which equips leaders with tools to harness the power of diversity in their organizations and communities
  • Speaker events, hosted on campus and across the state for students and community members, that focus on pressing contemporary policy issues
  • Three public education-focused fellowships, two of which support the development of afterschool and summer learning leaders and another that advances civic education in public schools through its development of social studies teachers
  • Community solutions-focused research consultancy that promotes evidence-informed practices and policies and supports entities that serve children and families across the state
  • Various student-focused programs, including its Advance Team for students interested in public policy and annual APEC Voices of the Future delegation

A celebration of Dick Riley’s 90th birthday was held in conjunction with an event launching The Riley Institute’s new book, A People’s Movement. Read more about the book and the event

Leadership gifts

The Riley Institute would like to extend its deepest appreciation to those whose generosity launched this campaign:

Congressman David Trone (Furman ’77) and June Trone: $1 million Watch video announcement of gift
Dr. Don Gordon, executive director of the Riley Institute, and Dr. April Gordon: $100,000