University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: September 25, 2003

By MARY COCHRANE
Reporter Contributor

The University at Buffalo has concluded successfully "The Campaign for UB: Generation to Generation," becoming the first State University of New York (SUNY) institution to set such an ambitious goal—$250 million—and then surpass it, raising $291.6 million, more than five times the amount raised in the university's previous campaign.

President William R. Greiner, noting that this campaign was uniquely university-wide and volunteer- and alumni-driven, said those factors, along with the campaign leadership and major support from the university's alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and corporate and foundation partners, contributed greatly to the drive's success.

"'The Campaign for UB' has been an unqualified and unprecedented success, thanks to the outstanding generosity of all who gave of their time, energy and resources in support of UB," Greiner said on Sept. 19 at a campus victory celebration held in Slee Hall, North Campus. "As this campaign takes its historic place in the ongoing tradition of UB spirit, the momentum it has generated will long continue to energize UB's future growth and development.

"We owe the success of this landmark campaign—as we owe all of our strengths in this leading public university—to the combined efforts and enthusiasm of the outstanding alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents and university friends from all sectors, including our corporate and foundation partners who comprise our UB family," Greiner added. "Their pride in UB has led to tremendous advances in our education, research, and public-service initiatives, and has created, in turn, even greater confidence in our university and renewed enthusiasm for our potential and promise for the future. In exceeding our most ambitious campaign goals, we've proven what we can achieve together as a community, and we have set an inspiring benchmark for UB's continued achievement in the 21st century."

UB Council Chair Jeremy M. Jacobs, '60, who served as honorary chair of the campaign, announced at the campus celebration that a total of $291,602,262 was raised during the campaign's seven-year duration.

"The vision of excellence for UB is becoming a reality, thanks to the thousands of alumni and friends who supported the university through their donations to 'The Campaign for UB: Generation to Generation,'" Jacobs said. "The campaign was incredibly successful as alumni and friends from around the community, the country and the world stepped forward to pledge their commitment to UB and its 13 academic units, athletics, University Libraries, University Honors Program and WBFO. Through a creative and ambitious agenda, we expect the funds raised during this campaign to open the door to many new and exciting opportunities in the future.

"Each gift that was made during this campaign," Jacobs added, "is an important contribution to UB's journey toward continued success and an endorsement for the incredibly talented and dedicated faculty and staff and the high standards of education, research and service that this university embraces. Those alumni, friends, corporations, foundations, and organizations who participated in the campaign feel a strong connection to UB's storied history and I am confident, based on the tremendous success of the campaign, that they are equally dedicated to being part of its future."

SUNY Chancellor Robert L. King, who attended the campaign celebration, praised UB for completing the most successful campaign in the State University of New York system.

"Philanthropic success provides UB with the extra measure of excellence achieved by great institutions," said King. "UB's ability to attract such significant financial support in a challenging economic environment is a reflection of the quality of the teaching, scholarship and groundbreaking research of its faculty, and the outstanding education that students receive. I congratulate the students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends of UB for this extraordinary accomplishment."

At the time of its public kickoff in October 2000, "The Campaign for UB" was the largest drive launched by a public university in New York and New England. The fifth major campaign since the university's founding in 1846, it was the university's first national and international fund-raising campaign, conducted on a university-wide basis, with volunteer leaders from across the country.

The $250 million goal also was UB's highest ever. The previous drive, the "Pathways to Greatness" Campaign that ended in 1992, raised $4 million more than its $52 million goal.

The campaign's strategy of gathering key groups of alumni and friends to direct the drive paid off in several ways. Within the group of 30 original campaign leaders—honorary chairs, co-chairs, chairs of schools, units and programs—24 were UB alumni. Of the more than 74,000 donors who committed to "The Campaign for UB," 62 percent were alumni and nearly 39 percent of these alumni were giving for their first time. Almost 13,000 of the alumni donors were recent graduates of the school, having received their degrees since 1990.

Jennifer A. McDonough, vice president for university advancement, said these numbers demonstrate the legacy of giving and volunteerism that "The Campaign for UB" has inspired throughout the university.

"This impressive showing of alumni support underscores the tremendous pride alumni have in UB," McDonough said. "It's a win-win situation for everyone, and we are so appreciative of the many donors and volunteers who made this campaign a success. It is very heartening to see so many alumni continue to be involved in UB and to support it. It is equally exciting to see the university embrace so many partnerships across its large community of diverse friends."

Another remarkable achievement of the campaign is the new audiences it reached: More than half of all donors were giving to UB for the first time.

The drive has brought about exciting changes at UB. Donors contributed millions of dollars for academic programs, research, libraries, student financial aid, property, buildings and equipment. The nearly $39 million for student financial aid increased the number and size of available scholarships and fellowships, which already have attracted more academically talented students to UB at the undergraduate, graduate and professional-school levels. This fall's extraordinary freshman class stands at 3,581 full-time students, the largest in UB history. The class also includes more international and out-of-state students than ever before. UB's graduate and professional enrollment—at 9,442—continues to show record growth: 23 percent since 1998.

Donors also committed more than $101 million to property, buildings and equipment, helping create new facilities such as the Law School's Francis M. Letro Courtroom, the first fully functioning courtroom located on a university campus; the Toshiba Stroke Research Center, which is helping UB and Western New York gain recognition for pioneering work in the minimally invasive treatment of stroke, and the Alfiero Center, currently under construction, which will contain facilities supporting the academic, career and professional-development activities of students in the UB School of Management.

Two gifts brought major benefits to the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. The school raised $1.6 million to earn a $500,000 challenge grant from the nationally prestigious Kresge Foundation, a first for the university. The funds will fortify the pharmaceutical-sciences instrumentation facilities that support the school's strategic research in areas such as pharmacogenomics, pharmaceutical protein biotechnology and the chemical sciences. Gifted venture strategist and scientist John N. Kapoor, Ph.D. '72, gave $5 million to UB to help strengthen the school's research core, provide resources to create a state-of-the-art instrumentation center and build the pharmaceutical-science faculty. The gift from Kapoor, founder, chairman and CEO of E.J. Financial Enterprises, Inc., is the largest ever given to the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

During the campaign, Gov. George E. Pataki established the University at Buffalo Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics, a new research center making its mark in the emerging field; UB's Center for Computational Research expanded to become one of the top 10 supercomputing centers in the world, and the Jacobs Executive Development Center, a gift from Jeremy M. Jacobs, opened as a site for executive training and workshops, as well as providing meeting space for area companies and organizations. The Anderson Gallery—home to a stunning collection of contemporary works by major American artists—also became part of UB, and its donor, art dealer David K. Anderson, generously contributed to the College of Arts and Sciences to influence new academic programs in museum conservation and gallery operations.

In addition to providing architecturally pleasing and technologically current centers of study, these new buildings—combined with improvements made to existing facilities—enhance UB's efforts to recruit and retain top faculty and students.

"The Campaign for UB" made a strong show of support for research at the university, which gained $44 million from donors. The funds increase opportunities for partnerships between the university and industry, as well as spurring advances in subjects across the curriculum, including bioinformatics, genomics, life sciences, biotechnology, social work, medicine and library science.

Other research centers or initiatives that campaign dollars helped create or expand include the multidisciplinary Center for Research in Cardiovascular Medicine, focusing on sudden cardiac death, and the Institute for Lasers, Photonics and Biophotonics, which conducts research designed to harness the power of light in a broad spectrum of applications and potential products, ranging from telecommunications to cancer therapy.

During the campaign's final year, UB hit a high-water mark in the amount of research funding it received: $239.7 million for fiscal 2002, a $52.9 million jump from the previous year and one that includes a 33 percent increase in funds from the federal government.

A number of gifts were pledged to enhance UB's excellent faculty through endowed professorships, chairs and lecture series. These include the Rita M. and Ralph T. Behling, M.D., Chair in Dermatology, in honor of Ralph's first wife, Rita, who died in 1998; the Law School's first named professorship, the Frank G. Raichle Professor of Trial and Appellate Advocacy, established "to encourage law students to examine the role of litigation and appellate advocacy in American society," and the Willower Family Lecture series, an endowment gift given to add to the intellectual climate of the university while enhancing the reputation of the Graduate School of Education.

Other new professorships include the Charles S. Peirce Chair in Philosophy created by Professor Emeritus Peter Hare and his late wife, Daphne, "to ensure the department's ongoing status as a leading force in the field;" the Durriya H. Tyabji Professor of Computer Science and Engineering, established by Hatim A. Tyabji in honor of his wife and her beliefs in family and education, and the expanded Clarkson Visiting Chair lecture program that annually brings a guest lecturer each to the Department of Architecture and the Department of Planning in the School of Architecture and Planning. Donors committed $82.5 million to various endowments, thus providing a strong foundation for ongoing institutional excellence. As the campaign closes, UB's endowment stands near $400 million.

Approximately 22 percent of the commitments to this campaign came in the form of bequests and other forms of planned gifts. These contributions, made through University Advancement's Office of Planned Giving, ensure that campaign benefits will continue to be realized well into UB's future.

One such gift will provide a four-year scholarship to UB for a student from Little Valley, N.Y., thanks to the generosity of Terese E. Kelly, who received a Bachelor of Arts degree from UB in 1968, then a master's degree in library science in 1973.

Kelly, a retired librarian and former Latin teacher at the School of Arts in Rochester, provided for the scholarship through a donation of stock to UB, to honor her grandmother, father, two aunts and two sisters, all graduates of Little Valley High School. She encourages other alumni to give to the future of UB, even in a volatile market.

"I would tell other alumni that their own educations were underwritten by taxpayers and their four years were a bargain," Kelly said. "I think people who 'take' should give back if they can. It's a great way to honor someone or something and to see your donation working during your lifetime."

Considering the unimaginable changes that occurred in the United States during the seven-year run of "The Campaign for UB," its success is truly remarkable. The quiet phase of the campaign began in 1996, raising $130 million in pledges and gifts for the campaign's initiatives: scholarships, academic support and university life.

On Oct. 20, 2000, the drive's public kickoff date, President Greiner spoke of the importance of expanding private support for UB. Citing a 1999 survey by the Council for Aid to Education (CAE), he expressed a desire to increase private giving to UB, bringing it in line with other major public universities.

Less than one year later, in the months after terrorists attacked the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon, scores of free-falling stock values had all but destroyed consumer confidence.

By 2002, according to the CAE, private support to U.S. colleges and universities declined for the first time in more than 15 years. The change was "fueled primarily by a sharp decline in gifts from alumni," which dropped by 13.6 percent, according to CAE researchers.

"The Campaign for UB" managed to rise above this decline, succeeding on several levels, including an exceptional turnout of alumni donors. Its timing, as it turns out, couldn't have been better.