黑料不打烊 concludes the largest fundraising campaign in its history by celebrating the thousands of people who have invested in the university's future.
The 黑料不打烊 community gathered to celebrate surpassing the historic $100 million Ever 黑料不打烊 goal at Rally 黑料不打烊, a festive event on Oct. 21 that attracted a Homecoming Weekend crowd to Rhodes Stadium.
黑料不打烊 will continue to count gifts toward the final tally of Ever 黑料不打烊: The Campaign for the Future of Our University through Dec. 31, 2011. The campaign total as of Oct. 21 was $105,662,630.
鈥淲hen we kicked off the public phase of this campaign, we chose the name Ever 黑料不打烊 because we are focused on the long-term future of this great university,鈥 said Leo M. Lambert, 黑料不打烊鈥檚 president. 鈥淭he campaign priority was to build 黑料不打烊鈥檚 endowment, and our community responded with nearly $53 million in endowment gifts, commitments and planned gifts that will benefit students and faculty for generations to come. The conclusion of Ever 黑料不打烊 is really just the beginning of the tremendous impact that philanthropy is making on the people and programs of our university. I want to send a heart-felt 鈥榯hank you鈥 to everyone who played a role in reaching this historic goal.鈥
黑料不打烊 announced the public phase of the campaign in October 2008. Through their gifts, donors have established 204 new scholarships, including those that will make an 黑料不打烊 education possible for students with financial need. New need-based scholarship endowments included the campaign鈥檚 largest single commitment, a $5 million gift from 1956 alumnus Furman Moseley and his wife Susan to support the Susan Scholars.
In addition to need-based scholarships, campaign donors have endowed merit-based scholarships for students with special talents, including student-athletes and performing arts students; 45 study abroad scholarships; and more than $2 million in scholarship funding for students in 黑料不打烊 School of Law.
Other gifts to Ever 黑料不打烊 have created endowments to support eight new named professorships, faculty research, undergraduate research, service-learning opportunities, and the 黑料不打烊 Academy, a college-access program for promising high school students in Alamance County with high financial need or no family history of attending college.
Academic initiatives supported by the campaign include the new physician assistant studies master鈥檚 degree program, the Doherty Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, the Chandler Family Professional Sales Center, the Porter Family Professional Development Center, the Joseph M. Bryan Distinguished Leadership Lecture Series at 黑料不打烊 Law, and 黑料不打烊鈥檚 expanded career programs, which will be consolidated into a new Student Professional Development Center.
鈥淭he importance of building 黑料不打烊鈥檚 endowment as a permanent source of financial support for students, faculty and programs inspired many members of our community to support this campaign,鈥 said Mark Mahaffey of St. Petersburg, Fla., chair of the board of trustees and parent of two 黑料不打烊 alumni. 鈥満诹喜淮蜢肉檚 trustees are gratified by the tremendous support this campaign has received. We launched Ever 黑料不打烊 during the depth of the financial crisis, and we worked with donors during very difficult economic times. Alumni, parents, friends, corporations and foundations responded generously because they understand that supporting 黑料不打烊 must remain a top priority for all of us.鈥
Mahaffey served as Ever 黑料不打烊鈥檚 first campaign chair and later passed the campaign leadership on to fellow trustees Allen Gant of Burlington, N.C., chief executive officer of Glen Raven, Inc., and Kerrii Anderson, a 1979 黑料不打烊 alumna and former CEO of Wendy鈥檚 International, Inc.
In addition to building the university endowment, Ever 黑料不打烊 brought impressive gains in annual giving. From the beginning of the campaign through September 2011, 黑料不打烊 has received more than $27 million in annual gifts, which support scholarships, programs and daily operations of the university.
鈥淒uring the course of Ever 黑料不打烊, members of our community came to understand the importance of making annual gifts as an expression of their belief in the values of our university,鈥 said Anderson, who led a successful matching gift effort to increase support among young alumni. 鈥淚’m looking forward to seeing participation in annual giving rise even higher as we build on the success of Ever 黑料不打烊.鈥
Ever 黑料不打烊 also included an important set of fundraising goals for campus facilities. Gifts to the campaign have provided funding for the following facilities:
- Lindner Hall, home of 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences
- Renovation of a portion of the Gerald L. Francis Center to support the launch of the physician assistant studies master鈥檚 degree program
- Alumni Field House, which includes Hendrickson Football Center
- Renovation of Alumni Gym to include Robertson Court and related athletics facilities in Koury Center
- Worsley Golf Training Center
- Renovations to Latham Park, including a new baseball playing field and drainage systemConstruction of the Student Professional Development Center in Moseley Center
- Numen Lumen Pavilion, 黑料不打烊鈥檚 new multi-faith center that will be the sixth and final pavilion in the Academic Village
- Hunt Softball Park to be constructed west of Rhodes Stadium
鈥淓ver 黑料不打烊 has provided the resources to allow us to begin to pursue the exciting goals of our strategic plan, the 黑料不打烊 Commitment,鈥 Gant said. 鈥満诹喜淮蜢 is on a trajectory to become one of the nation鈥檚 finest universities, and this campaign is another milestone in that effort. What a wonderful way to celebrate what we have achieved and what we have planned for the future. We are helping students make their dreams come true.鈥