“Through your wonderful support, you are helping us create new opportunities for worship, faith formation, and leadership service for our growing Catholic student population. The Catholic Center will be a warm and welcoming place, serving students’ intellectual and spiritual needs when they need it most.”

–SARAH C. MANGELSDORF

PRESIDENT AND G. ROBERT WITMER, JR. UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR

“College years are a critical developmental time, and our students are navigating complex and confusing spiritual, intellectual, and moral challenges. Newman can provide the foundation to prepare our students to be disciples far beyond campus. Your gift today will help us make history.”

–REV. BRIAN C. COOL '06W (MS), '21W (EdD)

J. NELSON HOFFMAN '55 AND JOAN DUTCHER HOFFMAN '55 DIRECTOR OF CATHOLIC NEWMAN COMMUNITY PASTORAL CARE

Where we are currently

For more than 50 years, Newman priests and chaplains have supported Catholic students and the entire University community, providing spiritual, emotional, and practical counsel to those in need.

By engaging in prayer, attending Mass, participating in Kairos Retreats, and celebrating the sacraments, our students become authentic witnesses of Christian life.

Inspirational programs, retreats, and volunteer opportunities such as Alternative Spring Break help our students grow personally, spiritually, and socially while developing valuable leadership skills.

Through lectures, interfaith dialogue, and study, students enhance their understanding of the Catholic tradition. They gain greater self-awareness and the ability to firmly articulate their faith.

Newman demonstrates how to lead a life of morality, compatible with Church doctrine
Newman fosters in oneself a personal and communal relationship with Christ
Newman teaches students to show compassion to the poor and vulnerable
Newman provides the confidence to give witness to one's faith
Newman offers the tools to align oneself with justice and the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching
Newman seeks to sow a healthy balance of compromise and truth in a world full of vice, acquisition, and exclusion
Newman prepares one to be an effective leader in his or her future faith journey
Newman helps one discern the possibility of a life of service in the Church¹

Where we are going

Help make this project a complete success—donate today.

Why we need to do so

The undergraduate student body has increased by more than 30 percent since 2006, and growth in the Catholic student population has outpaced all other religious groups. Twenty-five percent of our undergraduates today identify as Catholic. Newman still operates in the same limited space with essentially the same number of staff as when it was first established in 1963. To expand programs and reach an underserved population that includes first-generation and international students, Eastman, medical, nursing, and other graduate students, and those who have drifted away from their faith, Newman needs more space.

With nearly 2,000 students, Catholicism is the largest religious tradition at UR
Our ministry engages over 450 students in programming and Mass weekly
Newman sponsors over 100 programs and ministry offerings each year
There are more than 75 students in leadership roles at Newman

Learn more!

To learn more about the project in detail, hear from current and past students, and discover more opportunities about how you can help accelerate the process, please visit our YouTube playlist by clicking here, which highlights the many information sessions and testimonials surrounding the Catholic Newman Center.

If you would like to support this project with a donation via credit card, please click on the "Donate Here" button above or below and you will be directed to a secure University of Rochester giving page. If you would like to send a check, please make the donation out to "University of Rochester, Newman Building Fund" and mail it to the address below. If you would like to make a gift via securities or stocks, or would like to learn about available naming opportunities, please reach out to Jared Longmore at +1 (585) 276-7249 or [email protected].

Newman Building and Maintenance Fund (A12197)
University of Rochester
Office of Gift and Donor Records
300 East River Rd.
Box 270032
Rochester, NY 14627

Thank you for your interest and please reach out to us with any general questions about giving to the project or on the building itself at +1 (585) 275-8515 or [email protected].

Thank you!

Thank you to all who have donated to this transformational project thus far! We honestly could not have done any of this without you—creating new and exciting opportunities for worship, faith formation, social fellowship, and service for generations to come!

A message of support

Donate here and make a difference in our future.

“The Newman Community cultivates and serves all aspects of our students’ lives and provides a welcoming space for personal growth, faith, and leadership. We wholeheartedly support Newman’s quest to expand their ministry and better serve our growing student population.”