NASHVILLE, Tenn. ñ Vanderbilt University announced today it has
crossed the $1 billion mark in gifts and pledges in its multi-year
"Shape the Future" campaign and detailed ways in which funds have
already been put to use to transform the university and the people it
serves.
"It’s gratifying to be able to announce this achievement, not only
because it signals great success to date in a very ambitious campaign,
but also because of the impact we have already seen as a result of this
giving," said Monroe Carell Jr., chairman and CEO of Central Parking
Corporation and chair of the "Shape the Future" campaign. Carell is
also a member of the Vanderbilt Board of Trust and an alumnus of the
School of Engineering. "This milestone figure is a first in the history
of the institution, and it represents the generosity of many people."
Carell said the university so far has counted some 348,000 gifts and
pledges from 106,000 supporters as part of this monumental effort.
The goal for the campaign is $1.25 billion. According to The
Chronicle of Higher Education, only 20 other institutions in the
country are attempting a fund-raising campaign with a goal of $1
billion or more. No other campaign of this size has been undertaken in
Tennessee.
"The success of this campaign translates into tangible differences
we notice on our campus every day," said Chancellor Gordon Gee. "Our
highest priorities are to provide more scholarship support to allow
talented students from all backgrounds to attend Vanderbilt and to
endow more faculty chairs that enable us to recruit and retain the best
teachers and researchers anywhere in the world," he said.
To date, $147 million in new gifts and pledges for scholarships have
resulted from "Shape the Future." This has contributed to an 80 percent
increase in the book value portion of Vanderbilt’s endowment earmarked
for scholarships. There are 168 new or substantially increased
scholarship funds, and more than 41 percent of Vanderbilt’s new
freshman class is receiving need-based scholarship support.
The university has added 54 faculty chairs as a result of the
campaign with pledges and partial gifts or bequests for another 17.
Funds raised in the campaign also have resulted in
* the
addition of new health care facilities, including the Vanderbilt-Ingram
Cancer Center and the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, which
together serve people of all ages from throughout the community and
region;
* new and renovated performing arts venues, including the
Martha Rivers Ingram Center for the Performing Arts and the Steve and
Judy Turner Recital Hall, which host concerts and performances enjoyed
by more than 30,000 people each year;
* new and
renovated athletics venues, including Hawkins Field and Memorial Gym,
which benefit teams, students and the 500,000 fans who attend Commodore
athletic events each year;
* research across a wide
array of disciplines across campus, ranging from cardiovascular disease
and cancer to public education and Internet retailing;
* transinstitutional initiatives that bring together students and
scholars from different disciplines and perspectives to examine, for
example, religion and culture, law and business, integrative and
cognitive neuroscience, and art, enterprise and public policy; and
* the ongoing planning of a residential college system that will enhance
student engagement and intellectual exchange in all areas of campus
life.
"Shape the Future’ is a comprehensive
campaign that affects every area of Vanderbilt and its mission," Carell
said. "There is still much work to do as we strive to reach our goal,
but I am confident that we will build on all the good this campaign
already has accomplished and will achieve all that we’ve set out to do."
For more news about Vanderbilt, visit www.vanderbilt.edu/News.
Media contact: Michael Schoenfeld, (615) 343-1790
michael.schoenfeld@vanderbilt.edu