Campaign success bolsters academic impact

During his State of the University address on Oct. 13, UB President Satish K. Tripathi made an unprecedented announcement: UB has become the first SUNY institution to surpass a billion-dollar comprehensive fundraising campaign goal. Following the most successful year of fundraising in UB history, donors to Boldly Buffalo, the university’s multi-year, comprehensive campaign, have enabled the institution to exceed the ambitious $1 billion goal with a full year left in the campaign.

Alumni and donors have contributed to the campaign in record numbers, bolstering student support and scholarship funds, investing in faculty research and creating innovative programs that deliver UB’s impact to the local community and around the world. Boldly Buffalo has blown past all expectations since it launched in April 2018. In 2021, donors enabled the campaign's initial $650 million goal to be achieved in record time, and a new goal of $1 billion was set with the prospect that it would take another three years to reach. 

“While reaching this milestone is significant, we are most excited about the profound impact these philanthropic gifts are having on UB’s transformative education, our research innovations and breakthroughs, and our ability to contribute our disciplinary expertise and discoveries to the greater good,” said Tripathi. 

President Tripathi also announced a substantial commitment from the campaign’s largest individual donor, Russ Agrusa, BS ’76, that pushed the total past this historic milestone.

His gift will make it possible for UB to break ground on its long-anticipated new building for student learning and interaction in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Agrusa’s generosity and involvement with the university has been considerable over the past several decades.

He previously made a significant donation toward the construction of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences’ Davis Hall, where the building’s largest lecture hall is named Agrusa Auditorium. Most recently, he helped create the Paula T. Agrusa Plaza outside of Jacobs Management Center in memory of his late wife, whom he met when both were undergraduate students at UB. 

In 2020 Agrusa provided $250,000 to establish the Russell L. Agrusa CSE Student Innovation Competition, an annual event that encourages and rewards outstanding student research in innovative automation and connectivity technology. He also serves on the school’s dean’s advisory council and as co-chair of the Computer Science and Engineering Department Advisory Board.

Reaching the billion-dollar goal doesn’t mark the end of the Boldly Buffalo campaign. It will continue through its end date of June 30, 2024, allowing alumni and donors to maximize the impact of their gifts and pledges on UB students, research and scholarly work.

“One of the most important things our donors have in common throughout this campaign is that they fully understand how essential these funds are to developing our next generation of leaders across disciplines,” says Daniel Alexander, MD ’99, BA ’95, who is serving as volunteer campaign co-chair alongside his wife, Gail, BS ’87. “We’re so very proud and honored to be part of this incredible moment, and we’re excited to see what’s possible in the coming months as we enter the final stretch of the campaign.”

Through the new SUNY University Center Endowment Match program, UB donors can further amplify their support of UB. The match provides $1 in New York State funds for every $2 contributed to university endowments. This means UB can earn up to $200 million in State funds from now until the April 2026 deadline or the total amount set aside by the State ($500 million for all four university centers) is allocated, whichever comes first.

“This is an unprecedented opportunity for donors to take advantage of these matching funds to contribute even more toward scholarships, faculty endowments, fellowships—things that have direct impact on the quality of student education offered here at UB,” says Jason Diffenderfer, vice president for university advancement. “When people who love UB rally together, there’s really no telling what we’re capable of.”  

Learn more about the the Boldly Buffalo campaign as well as some of the remarkable donor stories and the inspiring work their gifts support. As noted by campaign co-chair Alexander, “it’s not too late to be counted in on this historic achievement.”