The university released an updated version of its strategic plan Friday that included not only more detailed provisions, but also a $2 billion price tag.
About half the plan's yearly costs will be covered by several of the plan's provisions, such as ramped-up fundraising, new online and alternative degree programs and a more aggressive pursuit of external funding for research, but the plan says the university will need $400 million in additional state funding and $1.2 billion in private funds during the next 10 years to fully implement the plan.
"You've got to have a bold plan if you want to achieve something," said Committee Vice Chair William Montgomery, who is also the chair of the University Senate. "If you're thinking big, people are more likely to finance it."
Members of the strategic planning committee were confident the university could raise the money.
XXXXXXXXX "It is a huge number," said Devin Ellis, a graduate student and member of the planning committee. "But it's not 2 billion new dollars. It's not $2 billion right now."
The number was calculated by university staff and Provost Nariman Farvardin, who chairs the committee.
The strategic plan is intended to guide the university through the next 10 years and aims to make this university a "world-class" institution. The plan has numerous goals but places a priority on increasing the university's international involvement, creating a new general education program and improving the community surrounding the university.
To pull off the lofty goals, the university is relying on the state to provide about $50 million a year more than it already does.
Farvardin believes the university can prove it deserves the funds even as state lawmakers are trimming the budget because of a slowing economy.
"I think it's unrealistic that this will happen soon. This is long-term planning," Farvardin said. If the university can prove to the legislature it will help create jobs and improve the economy, he continued, the additional funding will be provided.
"In the grand scheme of things, $50 million is not a huge increase," he said, pointing out it was only a 10 to 15 percent increase from what the university currently gets.
Del. Barbara Frush (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George's), who represents College Park, said it is difficult to predict state funding for the future.
"I don't expect the recession to last forever," she said, though she said it was hard to predict if and when the state might be able to boost higher education funding.
Sen. Jim Rosapepe (D-Anne Arundel and Prince George's), who also represents College Park, said $50 million in extra annual funding "would work if the campus mobilizes students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents." He said other groups around the state have put together strong enough lobbying groups to gain extra funds despite the economy, citing environmental organizations that secured annual increases of $50 million last fall to clean up the Chesapeake Bay. "The principle is right, that the campus is grossly underfunded. ... If they're willing to work for it, then it's absolutely feasible."
To supplement the unpredictable state funding, private donations and contracts are key to the plan's success. Some of the plan's goals will be taken care of through one-time public-private partnerships like East Campus, with no money coming from the state, the plan says. The plan says the Great Expectations campaign, which recently reached its half-way point of $500 million, will reach its $1 billion goal before its originally scheduled end date of 2011. The plan also says the university should keep improving its fundraising efficiency so that by 2018 it can raise about a quarter of a billion dollars each year.
"It's a cliché, but it takes money to make money," said Brodie Remington, the university's vice president for University Relations.
Remington explained that the university focuses primarily on courting the wealthiest donors, ignoring a large pool of alumni who cannot afford million-dollar donations but could still contribute greatly.
Right now, about 95 percent of the money the university raises is composed of large gifts of $1 million or more. Because the pool of very wealthy donors is smaller, University Relations spends only 10 cents per dollar it raises on employees to call the donors, postage and other expenses.
But Remington said the university still needs to develop a "base" of young alumni donors who can be tapped for money for many years in the future.
"The base is the future," Remington said. If they don't get in the habit of giving money to the university, "it's harder to get them to come back 25 years down the road."
The flip side is that building this donor base yields a lower return rate, since more people would need to be contacted and donations would be smaller. Remington said this fundraising practice would force University Relations to spend more money contacting alumni, but he said he is confident that ultimately it would help the university rake in more money over time.
In addition, the strategic plan lays out a goal of having 25 percent of alumni give money every year, a number Remington said would be one of the highest for large public universities.
"We want to be in the top two, three or five in the country," he said.
Senior staff writer Megan Eckstein contributed to this report. robillarddbk@gmail.com
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