University of Virginia President-elect Teresa Sullivan, who will replace current UVA President John T. Casteen on his August 1 retirement, will take office amidst UVA’s $3 billion capital campaign. Of the 100-plus candidates for the job, how many others can claim prior experience with a multi-billion-dollar fundraising campaign?
Sullivan became Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at the University of Michigan in June 2006—roughly six years into UM President Mary Sue Coleman’s own fundraising, the $2.5 billion "Michigan Difference" campaign. (The campaign began its $1.25 billion "quiet phase" in 2000.) The school eclipsed its $2.5 billion mark prior to the campaign’s December 31, 2008 deadline, and ultimately raised $3.2 billion.
Part of Sullivan’s responsibilities as Provost included collaboration with Coleman on budgeting for academic affairs. In October 2006, Coleman announced the "President’s Donor Challenge," a fundraising drive to help attain the goals of the Michigan Difference by creating 20 endowed professorships. That goal was met by the summer of 2007.
While working as Provost at Michigan, Sullivan oversaw a budget of $1.5 billion; for Fiscal Year 2009-2010, the University of Michigan’s budget including auxiliary activities (such as the UM Health System) totaled $5.2 billion for the school’s three campuses.