Pitt's Capital Campaign Exceeds Record-Breaking $1 Billion Eight Months Ahead of Schedule

PITTSBURGH- The University of Pittsburgh's Discover a World of Possibilities capital campaign-already the largest and most successful fundraising campaign in the history of Southwestern Pennsylvania-has exceeded a record-breaking $1 billion in gifts and pledges and has done so eight months ahead of schedule, it was announced today to Pitt's Board of Trustees at its fall meeting.

The campaign-whose initial goal of $500 million was doubled to $1 billion in 2002-was doubled yet again last June by the Pitt trustees to $2 billion, making it the largest campaign in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and advancing Pitt into the ranks of only 11 other American universities currently pursuing publicly announced campaigns of $2 billion or more: Columbia University, Cornell University, Stanford University, Yale University, the University of Virginia, the University of Michigan, New York University, the University of Chicago, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Washington.

In taking its action last June, Pitt's Board stated that "for the past decade, the University of Pittsburgh has made unprecedented academic progress, as is reflected by such measures as the significant increase in the number of applicants seeking admission to its programs, the much stronger qualifications of enrolled students, dramatically elevated levels of research funding, and the special forms of recognition earned by its faculty, students, and alumni," progress fueled by the Board's 1996 public commitment to secure for the University an adequate resource base by "dramatically improving efforts to attract private funding to an institution whose programs clearly are worthy of generous support."

The Pitt trustees have observed that the University "is faced with constrained governmental funding for student financial aid, research, programs, and facilities and must continue to attract private gifts and grants to support its important mission."

The Board also has noted that:

o the campaign has thus far "added substantially to the academic growth and stature of the University by providing support for talented and deserving students, committed and high-achieving faculty members, programs of quality and impact, and facilities that are essential to the achievement of our institutional goals; and that

o it "remains firmly committed to its statement of aspiration" adopted in February 2002: "By aggressively supporting the advancement of Pitt's academic mission, we will clearly and consistently demonstrate that this is one of the finest and most productive universities in the world." Last June the Board's members dedicated themselves to extending the campaign for an increased $2 billion goal "to be used to support the people and programs of the University of Pittsburgh in ways that further enhance its impact and add to its already proud legacy."

Discover a World of Possibilities has raised in excess of $1 billion in gifts and pledges as of Oct. 27, 2006, with a number of noteworthy statistics that mark substantial progress since 1997, the start of the campaign's "quiet" phase:

o 332 new endowed scholarship funds for a total of 749, an increase of 80 percent in the number of such funds;

o 29 new endowed fellowships for a total of 87, an increase of 50 percent in the number of such funds;

o 16 new endowed professorships for a total of 50, an increase of 47 percent in the number of such funds;

o 66 new endowed chairs for a total of 106, an increase of 165 percent in the number of such funds; and

o 435 new named miscellaneous faculty and student resource endowments used to support such activities and programs as research projects, research travel, book purchases, and student academic projects for a total of 775 of these endowments, representing an increase of 128 percent in the number of such funds.

The campaign has enjoyed widespread support, attracting its current total of more than

$1 billion from 116,146 donors. Of those donors, 67,980, or 59 percent, are alumni. Another important measurement of the success of any campaign is the number of donors who have made commitments of $1 million or more, and here the total of 198 such gifts is noteworthy. Also striking is the fact that 39 cumulative gifts of $1 million or more are from first-time donors to the University.

Among the programs of distinction and significance that the campaign has allowed the University to create and maintain are the Swanson Institute for Technical Excellence, made possible by a series of major gifts from alumnus John Swanson; the establishment, through the philanthropy of Henry Hillman, of the Hillman Fellows Program for Innovative Cancer Research; and the most recent gift from two of Pitt's most generous benefactors, alumnus John Petersen and Gertrude Petersen, that is supporting University-wide initiatives in nanoscience through the Gertrude E. and John M. Petersen Institute for NanoScience and Engineering, served by the newly dedicated Pitt NanoScale Fabrication and Characterization Facility.

The campaign has permitted Pitt to construct and renovate numerous facilities in addition to the just-mentioned NanoScale Facility that undergird the University's mission, with more than $1 billion in facilities projects launched and completed within the past decade. Those construction, renovation, and restoration projects took place in Pittsburgh and on each of the University's other four campuses, enhancing Pitt's capacities significantly in the arts, instruction, research, recreation, student life, and campus living.

"Reaching this momentous milestone, which we were told would be impossible, is a testament to the extraordinary generosity of the University's supporters, who are committed to see Pitt continue its determined climb into the very highest ranks of American universities," said Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg. "These dedicated donors have tangibly demonstrated their devotion to Pitt's ideals, its people, its programs, and its mission, which is grounded in a belief in the power of education to make this a better world for us all."

"Our goal all along has been to meet the challenges in higher education today and to continue Pitt's progress and momentum," said Pitt trustee and campaign chair Thomas J. Usher. "By raising $1 billion and extending the capital campaign, we will continue our efforts to attract more high-achieving students and faculty to our campus, retain and support outstanding faculty, and provide a nurturing learning environment that inspires discovery in all of the University's many disciplines."

"The hard work and dedication of our trustees, alumni, administration, and countless volunteers have enabled us to attain this goal," said Albert J. Novak Jr., vice chancellor for Institutional Advancement. "Their deep commitment and generosity to the University of Pittsburgh has left an indelible mark on future generations of students and on the well-being of our region," Clyde B. Jones III, vice chancellor for health sciences development, added.

###

10/27/06/tmw