Campaign for Virginia Commonwealth University Receives $13 Million in New Gifts and Pledges for Monroe Park Campus Fundraising Efforts

By Pamela DiSalvo Lepley

The Campaign for Virginia Commonwealth University has received $13 million in pledges and new gifts earmarked for its Monroe Park Campus fundraising efforts, VCU officials announced Wednesday.

The Campaign for VCU, a three-year effort announced last spring with an overall goal of $330.5 million, is the most ambitious and extensive capital campaign in the university’s history. Nearly 70 percent of the goal has been met to date.

The campaign is composed of 20 unit campaigns that include major private funding goals. The amount announced Wednesday supports one of the unit campaigns focusing on VCU’s Monroe Park Campus and includes a $10 million commitment from Steve and Kathie Markel to support the VCU School of Business. It also includes a $250,000 gift from Gilbert and Fannie Rosenthal and Tom and Wendy Rosenthal.

Tom and Vickie Snead, co-chairs of the Monroe Park Campus Campaigns, who gave $1 million to the School of Business last year, announced 12 new gifts at a gathering Wednesday of campaign volunteers.

The Markels’ transforming pledge supports the $30 million goal being sought in private funds for the Campaign for the School of Business. Private donations will help fund a new building as well as new technology, scholarships and professorships.

The new School of Business will be built in partnership with the School of Engineering Phase II facilities.

Markel, vice chairman of Markel Corp., currently serves on the governing board of the VCU Health System and is chair of the VCU School of Business’ executive leadership committee. Kathie Markel serves on VCU’s Massey Cancer Center’s major gifts committee.

Other gifts for the schools of business and engineering and the Honors Campaign were announced from the following donors:

Mark Sternheimer; Robert Rigsby; Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Stettinius; Mr. and Mrs. Jay Weinberg; Mr. and Mrs. Marcus Weinstein; Mr. and Mrs. Allen King; the Universal Leaf Foundation; Mr. and Mrs. Paul Edmunds; Mr. and Mrs. Sterling Edmunds; and the family of William M. Ginther.