Stevenson School has closed out the largest fundraising campaign in its history, bringing in $75 million — well past its original $60 million goal — to build new academic facilities, grow financial aid, and support students on its Carmel and Pebble Beach campuses.
The Remarkable Stevenson Campaign launched in 2024 and drew support from more than 2,500 alumni, parents, grandparents, faculty, staff, and friends of the school. For Monterey County families with students at Stevenson — or considering it — the campaign’s biggest visible result is already open: two new buildings on the Pebble Beach campus.
New Spaces for Science, Math, and Hands-On Learning
The John Senuta Math Center and The Day Science and Engineering Center have replaced the aging Lindsley Science Building, which had been in use since the late 1960s. The $45 million project gives students dedicated science labs, an engineering and fabrication workshop, a rooftop astronomy platform, and collaborative learning spaces.
The math center is named for longtime Stevenson math teacher John Senuta, funded by a $10 million gift from Will Griffith (Class of ’89) and his wife, Calla. The science and engineering center honors three generations of the Day family — Robert A. Day ’61, Matt Day ’63, and T.J. Day ’66 — through a matching $10 million gift from the Willametta K. Day Foundation.
“These centers aren’t symbols; they’re classrooms, labs, and workshops that our students walk into every day,” said Dr. Dan Griffiths, President of Stevenson School. “This campaign was always about exactly that: giving our students and teachers the tools to do extraordinary work.”
A Boost for Financial Aid
Beyond the new buildings, the campaign added significantly to Stevenson’s financial aid endowment, exceeding its $10 million goal for additional aid funding, and strengthened the Annual Fund that supports financial aid, faculty, and student programs across both campuses.
For many local families, access to that aid can be the deciding factor in whether a Stevenson education is possible at all.
“As someone who could not have attended Stevenson without the gift of financial aid, I know firsthand what this campaign means for students who will walk through these doors after me,” said Cynthia Chapman ’83, Chair of Stevenson’s Board of Trustees.
An Anonymous $10.5 Million Gift, In Memory of a Stevenson Graduate
As the campaign came to a close, it received the largest single gift in the school’s history: an anonymous $10.5 million contribution to the Tilly Scholarship Fund. The fund, established in 2019, honors Taliesin “Tilly” Namkai-Meche, a 2012 Stevenson graduate who died in 2017 after stepping in to defend two teenage girls from a stranger’s threats aboard a Portland light-rail train.
“Tilly came into this world full of energy and purpose,” said his mother, Asha Deliverance, a Stevenson parent. “He was the kind of kid who made every team better just by being on it… He had an altruistic view of the world and other people. This scholarship carries that forward — his humanitarianism, his belief that we’re all united.”
About the Campaign
Launched publicly in 2024, the Remarkable Stevenson Campaign focused on three priorities: a new math, science, and engineering facility; expanded financial aid; and increased support for the Annual Fund. It officially concluded June 30, 2026, having raised $75 million — 25% above its original goal.
For more information about Stevenson School.
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