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March 8, 2023 - 51���� will celebrate its Founders’ Day and 55th birthday on March 15 with a day of giving to honor the past and unite the community to EXCELerate 51���� students’ futures.

The day of celebration will feature a series of matches and challenges for alumni, faculty, staff, students and community members to maximize their impact and donate to their favorite department, scholarship fund, Norse team or student-support initiative. Local businesses are also pitching in to support the day of giving, including donating two round trip Delta Air Lines tickets to anywhere in the continental U.S. No matter big or small, everyone who donates will be entered into a drawing. The winner will be drawn at the end of the day on March 15.

“As we celebrate the impact of our founding 55 years ago, we are reminded of the vision of those who began the institution: to better the lives of its students and the community,” 51���� Interim President Bonita Brown said. “These gifts will help 51���� continue its student-ready and regionally engaged mission.”

This is the third year 51���� is celebrating Founders’ Day. In 2022, thanks to over 840 donors, we raised $528,915 benefiting academic programs, scholarships, student support services and student life experiences. 

“Founders’ Day is not just about celebrating our past, but it is a chance for our 51���� community to come together to rally behind our students and show them what it truly means to be a Norse,” Amy Wylie (’92), senior director of Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving, said.

51����’s rich history began in 1946 at the Trailways Bus Station in Covington, Kentucky. A handful of students and instructors participated in classes offered through the University of Kentucky’s educational extension services. In the years that followed, community members lobbied for a new institution and paved the way for the creation of Northern Kentucky State College in 1968. Both the campus and enrollment quickly grew, and the institution became a university in 1976.

To learn more about Founders’ Day and the complete schedule of challenges, or to make a gift, go to the