Parent Engagement & Philanthropy

On This Page

Play a Part in Your Student’s Success

At Fairfield University, the parents and families of our students are an important part of our campus community. Your support and encouragement continue to play a key role in our students’ personal and professional development.

Parents Leadership Council

Learn More

Parents Leadership Council

The Parents Leadership Council is a network of parents committed to supporting and enhancing the quality of Fairfield University student life and learning, and supports the University by raising funds from the parent community. Council members work closely with the University to actively engage parents and serve as the voice of the parents’ community with the University administration.

Learn More

Parents Fund

Learn More

Parents Fund

Fairfield parents and families significantly impact all students’ education through gifts to the Parents Fund each year. We are grateful for your participation, as it enriches the student experience and provides resources for:

  • Student life activities
  • Campus programs
  • Technology enhancements in the library, classrooms, and labs
  • Spirituality and service learning
  • Career services
  • Financial aid and scholarships
  • Strong faculty-to-student ratios and small class sizes

The power of thousands of Fairfield parents engaging in the experience and being ambassadors is important to setting our institution apart and ensuring its future success.

Check out all of the ways parents can stay engaged with the University to ensure their student's success and assist in Fairfield's rise in our Parents Make the Difference brochure.

Parent Ambassadors

Learn More

Parent Ambassadors

Are you looking for ways to get involved at Fairfield? Consider joining our Parent Ambassador Program. A Parent Ambassador represents the University and the Fairfield parent community in meaningful ways on and off campus, and enriches the overall student experience through their involvement.

These volunteer opportunities include:

  • Contacting fellow parents via social, phone, text, or email to fundraise during the Parents & Family Challenge (Fall) and on STAGiving Day (Spring)
  • Hosting events for incoming students, fellow parents, and alumni
  • Offering career-related networking opportunities for our students through internships, mentoring, the Job Shadow program, and more
  • Assisting with welcome calls to the incoming classes.
  • Attending regional chapter events, including career, networking, spiritual enrichment, and social receptions.

For more information, please contact parents@fairfield.edu.

Senior Parents | Honor Your Graduate

Learn More

Senior Parents | Honor Your Graduate

Recognize your senior student’s hard work and dedication at Fairfield by making a gift in their honor. All gifts will serve as a tribute to your student while supporting the valuable programming that has made a difference in your student’s life.

Learn More

Annual Parent Challenges

Learn More

Annual Parent Challenges

As parents of Stags, you are a part of a special community that makes a difference. Twice a year you have the opportunity to participate in giving challenges that help our students and campus community thrive.

  • Fall: The Parents & Family Challenge
  • Spring: STAGiving Day

We hope you join us in supporting academic enrichment, student life and wellness initiatives, and financial aid for students like yours.

Events

Learn More

Events

Fairfield parents are invited to attend all events hosted by the Office of Alumni Relations. With nine regional chapters from Boston to San Francisco, there are many events held across the country as well as virtual offerings.

Additionally, special event opportunities occur several times of year for our Parents Leadership Council members and families.

View Upcoming Events

FairfieldNews

Learn More

FairfieldNews

Fairfield University sends out an e-newsletter to our current parents throughout the year. If you are not receiving this, we may not have your current e-mail address. Please complete the Stay In Touch information below so we can add you to our database.

Visit the FairfieldNews Website

Stay In Touch

Fairfield University uses email as a main communication avenue for the parent community. If you are not receiving the Parent ENewsletter, this means that we do not have a current email address in our database (emails from the Bursar’s office regarding tuition are not coming from our database).

To update your contact information please fill out the following form:

First Name
Last Name
Email*
Phone Number
Students Name
Students Class Year
Address
City
State
Zip Code
Business Information

Meet the Team

The Office of Parent Engagement & Philanthropy is here to help our parent and family community connect, stay informed, and get involved.

Ellen Dooley

’85, P'23

Director

Parent Engagement & Philanthropy

x3276

Jenna McClain

Associate Director

Parent Engagement & Philanthropy

x2517

Lindsey Hanley

Assistant Director

Parent Engagement & Philanthropy

x3213

Letter from the President

Dear Friend,

It’s fall, my favorite time of the year, and our campus has sprung back to vigorous, joyful young life as I’m sure you can imagine.

For me, this time of year is particularly special. We get to welcome a whole new class of Fairfield students – young men and women from all over the country and the world, excited to be part of the Fairfield experience, to embrace a level and intensity of study and growth that will change them forever. Our community of faculty and staff are more than eager and ready to aid in their transformation from young people of promise to young adults filled with a sense of purpose and prepared to engage creatively with our world and shape it for the better.

I am grateful to families and parents like you who believe in and support our Fairfield vision of creating a learning environment that prepares our students to make a meaningful difference in their world.

You and your student are experiencing a special moment in Fairfield’s history. With the support of our collective community, our reputation as an outstanding national, professional doctorate University continues to accelerate. This incoming class is the most selective, as well as the most geographically represented and culturally diverse. With the highest GPA and SAT scores in our history, this is our most selective class and we are in the top percentage of low admittance rates amongst our Jesuit peer institutions. We are overjoyed to welcome these new students to Stag country.

As a University, we have arrived at this point thanks to the many parents like you who believe in our mission. Together, we have earned a reputation of being one of the best values in American higher education, with 98% of our graduates securing full-time employment, graduate school placement, or volunteer and service work within six months of graduation. Last year, The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce ranked 4,500 colleges in the country based on the return on the investment after graduation, and Fairfield lead the list, placing in the top 1% in the nation – an astonishing achievement.

As a community, we have significantly increased financial aid opportunities to help eliminate economic barriers for students in need of assistance that want to join our Stag family—allowing them access to all Fairfield has to offer. This includes our first cohort of students who have joined our new Bellarmine initiative in Bridgeport, as well as our Company Scholars from Jesuit and Cristo Rey network of Jesuit high schools, both creating bridges to brilliant futures.

Your support allows us to remain faithful to our duty as a Jesuit institution to be a beacon of hope as well as an institution of learning. Thank you for playing your part in this exciting period of expansion and transformation in Fairfield’s history. I look forward to sharing our University’s progress and news with you throughout the year, and hope to see you on campus or at one of our regional events soon.

Be well and God bless,

Mark R. Nemec, PhD
President
Professor of Politics

P.S. Parents can continue to make a difference by participating in our 6th Annual Parents and Family Challenge in October—a multi-day challenge where the parent community generously comes together to reach donor goals and unlock challenge dollars that are invested to support students’ needs.

Search Results