changing the world What your investment in UT makes possible
HISTORY-MAKING SUCCESS The Campaign for Texas enters the record books as the university tops its $3 billion goal.
“My heart is filled with thanks for every member of the Longhorn family who helped us.”
W
– President Bill Powers
hen
UT’ s
most ambitious capital campaign ever hit its
home stretch last year, it was far from certain the effort would reach its $3 billion target within the eight years allotted. But when the dust settled at midnight on Aug. 31, 2014, the
$856 million raised in the final year had set a new state record for college fundraising in a single year. And the university had surpassed its overall campaign goal by $115 million. Above: The Campaign for Texas ended Aug. 31, topping its $3 billion goal by $115 million. Drawing more than 270,000 donors, the campaign fueled a building boom and helped more students find success. creditS: From left: Randal
Ford; Wyatt McSpadden
54 |The
“Our alumni and supporters have given the greatest gift a university could ever seek,” UT President Bill Powers said at the conclusion of the Campaign for Texas. “They have helped ensure that future generations will be able to learn, grow, and prepare for the future at a university that remains one of the nation’s premier public research institutions. My heart is filled with thanks for every member of the Longhorn family—individuals, foundations, associations, and corporations—who helped us.”
Drawing more than 270,000 donors of gifts small and large, the campaign fueled a campus building boom and an influx of student and faculty talent. It supported pioneering research into matters from microscopic to vast—designing cancer-fighting nanoparticles, for example, and building the largest map of the universe ever created. Donations created opportunities to help more students reach their full potential. New donorfunded scholarships include the Texas Exes’
Forty Acres Scholars Program, a full-ride scholarship dedicated to attracting the nation’s best students, and the Opportunity Scholars fund, an innovative endowment that began with a gift from a faculty member to help students obtain a degree without going into debt. Texas Ex Delilah Dominguez, MSSW ’14, received a fellowship from the St. David’s Foundation’s GRACE Program, which helps social work students who wish to work with older adults. Dominguez, who was a first-generation college student, says such support strengthens the fabric of society. “Philanthropy made college an affordable reality for me,” she says. University leaders chose the $3 billion figure after considering what it would take to implement the recommendations of the Commission of 125, a volunteer panel of more than 200 Texas and national leaders charged with outlining a vision for UT’s future. The panel’s 2004 report reiterated the 1876 Texas constitutional mandate for a “university of the first class,” recommending undergraduate curriculum reform
and more demanding standards for leadership of academic departments and centers. The campaign, which began its quiet phase in September 2006, faced challenges from the beginning. A month before the scheduled October 2008 public phase launch, one of the country’s largest investment banks filed for bankruptcy, presaging not just an economic recession but a global financial crisis. University leaders announced the campaign as planned, with Powers saying they were in it for the long haul. Longhorn Nation responded, and donors ultimately represented all 50 states and 97 countries. “The Campaign for Texas is an even greater achievement than the numbers convey because we succeeded during one of the worst economic times since the Great Depression,” says campaign chair Kenny Jastrow, BBA ’69, MBA ’71, Life Member, Distinguished Alumnus. “Thank you to our alumni and friends who had the vision and commitment to help the university we all love succeed.” s e p t e m b e r | o c t o b e r 2011
| 55