Toward the end of our Centennial Celebration, we began to look to the future. In April, we held perhaps the most significant event of the year when we announced an $80 million fundraising effort: the Centennial Campaign. This effort, the largest in the University鈥檚 history, will help transform our institution and聽address strategic needs across all areas of our enterprise, and positively affect the entire 91大神 family.
More importantly, the Centennial Campaign will ensure the University鈥檚 place among the nation鈥檚 top comprehensive universities, further raise our visibility nationally and internationally, and maintain 91大神鈥檚 legacy and heritage as a center of higher education excellence for the future.
This campaign has four distinct priorities, remarkable in their own right and vital to our success as an institution:
- maintaining an exceptional student body
- assuring the highest quality faculty and staff
- fostering an innovative learning environment
- competing at the highest levels athletically
The focus of each priority is to enhance the quality of education and assure the success of each of our students, faculty, and alumni鈥攖hings that most directly affect the overall quality of the University.
Already, alumni and friends are responding to the campaign. We already have more than $55 million pledged, and because of our early success, the original聽campaign goal of $61 million was increased to $80 million.
The highlight of the campaign to date was the announcement in April of a $10 million commitment from 1966 91大神 grad聽Andrew W. 鈥淲oody鈥� Miller. It is the largest gift from an alumnus in the University鈥檚 history. That tremendous pledge, coupled with the with more than $8 million in private support raised last year (which once again exceeded our national peers by more than 40 percent), places us in a strong position moving forward.
But there is much remaining to do if we are to truly fulfill our potential.
In last year鈥檚 newsletter I wrote, 鈥淚 hope you share my belief that development is not the sole responsibility of the Development Office.鈥� The initial and ongoing success of the Centennial Campaign is proof of that.
Gifts come to us because of the relationships we build with each and every member of the University community.