>newground
The future is here and it’s even better than we expected.
The closing ceremonies of the Campaign for IUPUI in October marked both the end of a record-setting seven-year endeavor and the campus’ new standing as Indiana’s first public university to reach a $1 billion dollar campaign. This achievement places the campus among an elite group of American universities. Only 22 universities nationally—Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Yale among them—have successfully completed $1 billion campaigns.
According to IUPUI Chancellor Charles Bantz, the campaign’s success reflects the way Indianapolis and central Indiana have embraced IUPUI: “Our slogan for this campaign was ‘The Future Is Here.’ Our community believed that and helped us create that future,” said Bantz. “Every dollar is a vote of confidence and helps guarantee that IUPUI will fulfill its promise to the citizens of Indiana, to our students, alumni, faculty, and staff.”
Among the campaign’s accomplishments:
bullet $36.2 million for student financial support,
bullet Establishment of 83 endowed faculty positions,
bullet Funding for construction projects, including Eskenazi Hall, the new home of the Herron School of Art; Lawrence W. Inlow Hall, which houses the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis; major facilities for the IU School of Medicine; and the Communications Technology Complex.
The campaign, which was managed by the IU Foundation, included contributions from more than 76,000 individuals, corporations, and foundations, as well as more than 4,300 IUPUI employees. As IU President Adam Herbert stressed, “these private gifts are essential, since state funding and student tuition provide only a portion of the university’s operating budget.”
In the beginning few expected the campaign to break records. The initial $500 million goal was increased to $700 million following the tremendous outpouring of support during the campaign’s silent phase. When the campaign went public, the support continued to pour in, pushing IUPUI’s totals far beyond expectations.
“Ten years ago,” said IU Foundation President Curt Simic, “this campaign was only a dream. But IUPUI had a vision of an urban university that made alumni proud, faculty and staff loyal, and a community of business, civic, and government leaders fiercely determined partners in realizing the potential of this amazing campus.”
>Brett McLaughlin
Hear about one of the campaign's great achievements in this multi-media presentation. (Turn on your speakers.)