Great Expectations passes $900M mark

As this university focuses on distinguishing itself as a world-class institution, it has had to rely more heavily on private donations — and with more than $900 million raised in five years, officials said that vision is becoming a reality.

In 2006, former university President Dan Mote launched the Great Expectations fundraising campaign, which aims to raise $1 billion for the university to divide between student support, faculty retention, infrastructure upkeep and innovative and entrepreneurial programs. Although the goal once seemed lofty, officials said they fully expect to meet their goal by December after more than $56 million worth of donations were given or pledged to the university in the last six months, Vice President for University Relations Brodie Remington said.

University President Wallace Loh, who has been at the helm of the campaign since being appointed last year, said he has built upon Mote's work to continue the campaign's success.

"I'm harvesting the seeds that were planted by Dan Mote and many other people in the past, and I'm planting seeds with many new donors," Loh said.

Officials initially hoped to complete the campaign last year, but after the economic recession caused a decline in donations, they extended the deadline to 2012. Now that the university is well within reach of its goal, Remington said he expects to set higher goals for fundraising campaigns over the next few years.

Most of the donations are earmarked by donors for specific use, such as the creation of a sports journalism center for the journalism school or a scholarship program for students, Remington said. Student support is the largest priority, with more than $300 million worth of gifts and pledges going toward scholarships and other programs for students.

Along with staff members and volunteers, many college deans have been heavily involved in fundraising efforts, Remington said. Since much of the money raised will be used to enhance the educational experience for students, Education College Dean Donna Wiseman said the campaign has been a top priority.

"Much of the money that we get through this campaign goes into scholarships, so really students are the beneficiaries," Wiseman said. "There may be some money that supports some research programs, but the major part of development money goes into scholarships."

Without the money from the campaign — the largest fundraising campaign by a public university in the state — it would be impossible to recruit and retain top-notch faculty and students, said business school Dean Anand Anandalingam.

"The money from this campaign really helps the Smith School because it provides scholarships for our undergraduate and MBA students, allows us to attract top Ph.D. students … enables us to provide really great career services to our students, retain our top faculty with endowed professorships, and build out our physical infrastructure with state-of-the-art technology," he wrote in an email.

While the campaign has been largely successful, Remington said student behavior impacts donations, and that students should be aware that their behavior affects the university's image — and its potential for attracting the donations that directly benefit them.

"I think most students are a bit oblivious to that," he said. "The longer-term picture may not be on their minds, so I suppose that what some folks find offensive chants at games, they don't see the connection."

With the campaign coming to a close at the end of this year, Remington said plans for the next campaign will begin in the next few months. One of the major decisions will be how long the next campaign will last, he said. While a typical campaign lasts between five and 10 years, it's difficult for the university to sustain the energy and commitment for long periods of time, he said.

"We got in this game of setting the goal ever higher and the university started to prolong the campaign," he said. "It's hard to sustain volunteer energy and leadership energy over that time."

Remington, who will step down from his post next year, said the university's capacity for raising money will only increase as it cements its standing as a first-class university.

"Here, the glass is half full," Remington said. "We have so much more potential. We're a late starter but that tells me we can catch up and the best is yet to come."

kirkwood@umdbk.com