UVA President John Casteen says the $3 billion raised will put UVA permanently among the top universities in the world.
The Board of Visitors held an unusually well-attended meeting September 29 as they voted to launch one of the most ambitious private fundraising campaigns in American higher education. Some of UVA’s wealthiest alumni and their families crowded Old Cabell Hall, where the board affirmed the goal of $3 billion and pledged to meet or exceed it by the end of the campaign in 2011.
The campaign’s theme, “Knowledge is Power,” comes from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson in 1817, when the University was first being formed. So far, it seems the campaign’s greatest power may come in awarding UVA autonomy from the State.
“This campaign holds the promise of propelling the university into the front ranks of all institutions of higher learning, public or private, and in the process create a new model of American higher education,” said Gordon Rainey, chairman of the campaign. “An essentially privately-financed public university.”
That new model is possible because of a restructuring initiative passed last year by the Commonwealth of Virginia which allows universities more oversight on spending, tuition and personnel management.
Rainey spoke to C-VILLE following the meeting and affirmed UVA’s commitment to remaining public. “We do take deeply into account our public mandate. We’ll rely more in the future on philanthropy and less on taxes.”
President John Casteen also didn’t mince words when it came to the capital campaign’s goal: “We’ve committed ourselves to the task of securing for the long-term future a permanent position in the top universities of the world.”
At the meeting, the Board of Visitors unanimously resolved to launch the campaign—a jovial piece of ceremony, considering the campaign’s “silent phase,” which began in January, 2004, has already raised $1.24 billion. Over $12 million has already been contributed by Board of Visitors members themselves.
When the $3 billion campaign was announced, it was the largest campaign in the history of public education. Yet Columbia University now has the record, having announced just last week their own $4 billion capital campaign.
