CANTON — An anonymous St. Lawrence University parent has made a $2.5 million unrestricted gift to the university's endowment, “The Campaign for Every Laurentian.”

A news release from SLU says the purpose of the endowment is to provide “sustainable financial support to serve the University's mission in perpetuity.”

“Unrestricted gifts to the endowment are considered the ultimate vote of confidence in an institution, as they allow the University the flexibility to apply its returns each year to priorities on campus that continue to enhance the student experience,” the school said in a news release.

The donor is a member of St. Lawrence’s Parents Committee, which was established in 1953 and has continued with current and past parents supporting the University's mission through charitable gifts. During the campaign, parent giving has continued with $37 million or 17 percent of the current total credited to parents, SLU said.

“This supremely generous gift from a current Laurentian parent stirs in all of us a feeling of affirmation that we are doing high value work with indelible effect at St. Lawrence,” said President William L. Fox in a prepared statement. "We are so deeply grateful for the tangible and symbolic meaning of this form of assurance about the future of the University. This is another vivid example of our campaign bringing out the best in the hearts of St. Lawrence families.”

"During uncertain times, significant financial commitments from Laurentians provide certainty and give us margins of safety and financial strength," said Steve Hietsch, vice president of finance and administration.