Even as the world economy continues to struggle, the Columbia Athletics Department is making headway in the Columbia Campaign for Athletics—the $100-million fundraising campaign launched in October 2007. According to Dianne Murphy, director of intercollegiate athletics and physical education, the campaign has already netted the department just over $53 million since its inception.
But despite the campaign’s success so far, Murphy acknowledged that the current economic recession could have a dampening effect on future donations and contributions.
“We must consider the possibility that the pace of gifts to the entire University, including the athletics program, will not be as robust in the immediate future as it has in previous years,” Murphy said in an e-mail. “That said, we continue to see significant commitments made in both annual giving and gifts and pledges.”
The majority of that $53 million—$33.5 million, according to Murphy—has gone toward what the campaign has dubbed “Places,” the $70 million initiative to renovate existing facilities as well as fund a brand new sports center at Baker Field. To that end, Murphy announced that the University has selected Steven Holl Architects, a New York-based firm, to design the new athletic complex. The award-winning firm has been behind numerous national and international projects over the last decade, including the Museum of Natural History in Los Angeles, the College of Architecture at Cornell University, and the still-under-construction Linked Hybrid in Beijing.
Murphy did not give a date as to when construction would begin on the proposed sports center, but did say that the University hopes to break ground as soon as possible. Murphy also added that, “in keeping with University guidelines, we will not begin construction until we have all financial commitments and pledges for the project.”
In more immediate facilities news, Murphy announced that renovations have begun on the Chrystie Field House as part of the Facilities Master Plan for the Baker Athletics Complex. Those renovations were developed by Cannon Design, the firm responsible for the redesign of Altschul and Milbank Halls at Barnard, and will center on building a new locker room for the football team, as well as expanding the athletic training and sports medicine suite, along with other team locker rooms and meeting areas. The renovations should be finished by August 2009.
Of the remaining $20 million that the campaign has raised to date, $11 million has gone to “Programs,” intended to support existing athletic programs at the University. Perhaps the most notable success in terms of programs was the promotion of men’s and women’s squash to the varsity level, which will become official in the 2010 season. That move was made possible through the donations and support of alumni and other contributors while also spurring debate as to whether or not other club sports could hope of joining the varsity ranks in the near future. At this time, however, Murphy believes that “financial support for establishing additional varsity sports programs has not been identified.”
The final $9 million that has been raised has gone towards “People,” the third section of the campaign dedicated to endowing and financially supporting head coaches and administrators. There are currently four endowed head coaching positions at Columbia—football, wrestling, squash, and men’s tennis—and Murphy stated that the department is “continuing to pursue endowments for a number of coaching positions.”
Overall, according to Murphy, the campaign has helped the 29 varsity sports programs at Columbia achieve record levels in annual fundraising, while also putting the Athletics Department as a whole “in much better shape than it was four years ago.” Nonetheless, Murphy stressed that, “given the economic climate, it is vital that our stakeholders continue to support our annual giving initiatives.”
“It is important to remember,” Murphy said, “that the Columbia Campaign for Athletics is not a multi-year endeavor, and success is not predicated on fundraising results in any particular fiscal year. We are continuing towards our stated goal of $100 million, and are confident that we will be able to achieve all of the objectives of the campaign.”
