$3 billion capital campaign on track

With the “public” phase of UVA’s $3 billion capital campaign about to kick off in October, the University considers itself on track to meet its goal of $1 billion during the so-called “silent phase.” As of the end of June, the campaign has netted almost $933 million. “We’re very confident that on September 30, we’ll be in excess of a billion dollars,” says Bob Sweeney, senior vice president for development and public affairs.
    This isn’t the first multibillion dollar campaign that UVA has undertaken. From 1993 to 2000, the University raised $1.4 billion. When it was announced, it was the largest campaign in the history of public education, according to Sweeney. He says the current campaign ranks in the top five philanthropic endeavors anywhere. “We’re really in the rarefied air in terms of philanthropy,” he says. Six other universities—three of them private—are in the midst of capital campaigns between $2 billion and $2.5 billion.
    On October 1, the funding meter will drop back to zero as the University works to raise another $2 billion by December 2011. Even if the $3 billion goal is reached, don’t expect a cutback in the development department. “Philanthropy is here to stay,” say Sweeney. “We’ve hired fundraising staff for the long haul.”
    The money will be split between the endowment, capital construction and operating resources—but the larger point is for the University to wean itself from the State. “The strategic goal is to create a new model in American education as the first privately funded public university that maintains the public mandate,” says Sweeney. “No state, no matter how generous, could fund the aspirations of a truly great global institution.”
    Sweeney acknowledges the “important element of support” from the State, and insists that this isn’t an attempt to replace their funding (about $160 million, 8 percent of the $2 billion annual budget). He says Virginia residents should continue to enjoy their 2:1 ratio at the University. “We are committed to being the crown jewel of the Commonwealth.”
    However, Sweeney also says that UVA wants “to be mentioned in the same breath” as Stanford, Duke, Johns Hopkins and Cornell. The University now benchmarks itself against 10 private universities rather than other public universities.