CU Opens $4 Billion Capital Campaign

Columbia will launch its $4 billion capital campaign on Friday, making public the most ambitious fundraising push ever attempted by an American university.

Administrators say the University-wide campaign will bolster financial aid, increase professorships in arts and sciences, and improve Columbia's facilities and academic programs. Most of the schools involved have been raising money since July 2004 as part of the campaign's "silent phase"; the drive includes all gifts given to the University through December 2011.

The campaign is key for Columbia, which is trying to bolster its elite reputation, improve relations with its 260,000 alumni, and extend its global reach. At just over $5 billion, the University's endowment is the eighth largest in the country, but still lags behind some of its Ivy League peers.

The launch comes less than two weeks after Columbia announced that University Trustee Gerry Lenfest, Law '58, would give $48 million for the endowment of professorships in the School of Arts and Sciences and the Law School. Recently, the University also released its plan to eliminate loans for current and incoming Columbia College and engineering students of families making less than $50,000 annually beginning with the 2007-2008 academic year.

"We can really make a difference in Columbia's ability to fully take advantage of the moment that we're in," said Jerry Kisslinger, executive director of communications for the Office of University Development and Alumni Relations. "We're really poised to be a true leader in so many fields."

Columbia's last fundraising campaign, which ran from 1988 to 2000, had a goal of $2.2 billion dollars; the University succeeded in raising about $2.5 billion. At least seven other universities currently have fundraising goals of at least $2 billion, but none are as large as Columbia's.

WHERE THE MONEY WILL GO

Columbia plans to raise $440 million for financial aid for Columbia College, the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the School of General Studies. It also hopes to increase endowed professorships, directing $150 million for positions in Arts and Sciences and $90 million for those in the Law School.

Building initiatives also comprise a major part of the campaign. Funding will go toward a wide range of projects, from the new science building on the northwest corner of campus to renovations for the School of Arts and the University's proposed expansion in Manhattanville.

Each of Columbia's constituent schools has a specific goal for how much it hopes to raise and how it plans to divide up the funds. Columbia College expects to raise money for financial aid and faculty and academic support.

"The campaign is critical to Columbia University and to the College," said Derek Wittner, CC '65 and dean of Alumni Affairs for Columbia College.

The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Sciences has a $30 million fundraising goal for undergraduate scholarships and a $20 million goal for graduate fellowships. The school also hopes to raise $50 million to recruit faculty and $25 million for labs and equipment.

"Our aggressive campaign goals will not only help us recruit and retain exceptional faculty and students, ... but will also allow us to be a major player in the education of individuals who will shape our future," said Leslie Murphy, the school's director of development.

The Columbia University Medical Center is almost two-thirds of the way toward reaching its $1 billion goal, helped by the participation of over 16,000 donors. The Medical Center's campaign started in July 2003, a year before most of the University's schools had begun fundraising. Faculty and student financial support are central to CUMC's goals, said Susan Stalcup, vice president for development for the medical school.

GETTING ALUMNI ON BOARD

Kisslinger also stressed the importance of using the campaign to increase alumni involvement across the board. When the campaign was authorized by the Columbia Board of Trustees in June 2006, it included an explicit goal of improving alumni engagement.

"Some of the ... [contributors] are going to be really big donors, but there are also really important participation goals," he said. "It really matters that we build a broader base of people who see that as meaningful, because it really changes the definition of what the Columbia community and its alumni are about."

For Friday morning's announcement, organizers have assembled a panel of eminent faculty to represent the core values of the campaign.

"Sometimes people think these fundraising campaigns are about gimmicks or add-ons or a new building," Kisslinger said. "But the launch that's happening is an important reminder about what the campaign is about," he said, referencing the morning's motto, "What don't we know?"

"For us to not include an academic piece of the launch would be foolhardy," Wittner added. "The fact that teaching and research is so eminently included is a big change for the better in ways that they haven't been in the past."

The event will be linked via live satellite to events in Hong Kong and London as well; both will feature their own mix of Columbia-related speakers.

"Columbia University is entering this campaign in order to be able to do what it takes to be one of the most influential universities in the world," Murphy said. "That will require bringing the very best thinking to our community, educating leaders, and continuing the inquiry that leads to discovery. All require tremendous financial resources."