VCU raises $167.8 million in ‘Partners for Progress’ campaign

Virginia Commonwealth University raised $167.8 million during its "Partners for Progress" fund-raising drive – exceeding its goal for the seven-year campaign by $42.8 million.

VCU officials are celebrating this final phase of the "Partners for Progress" campaign with a Sept. 15 donor program at the Stuart C. Siegel Center, 1200 W. Broad St. The celebration, which will begin at 6:30 p.m., will feature a 20-minute multimedia show highlighting how campaign contributions are benefiting VCU and its programs and partners.

"We are celebrating not a conclusion, but a beginning to VCU’s future in the 21^st century thanks to the generous support of our donors and alumni," said Dr. Eugene P. Trani, VCU president. "Our supporters are making it possible for the university to fulfill its vision of partnership in education, research, service and patient care."

Funds generated by "Partners for Progress" are supporting more student scholarships; new interdisciplinary centers and institutes; the development of an innovative engineering education program; and new and renovated facilities for students as well as research. The campaign also is supporting academic program enhancement and competitive continuing education offerings.

"True to the spirit of the campaign, this effort has been a partnership of those who believe in a remarkable institution of higher education and its unique mission – one that is of tremendous importance to the future of Virginia," said Richard T. Robertson, president of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. A 1967 alumnus, Robertson chaired the "Partners for Progress" campaign.

About $31.1 million, or almost one-fifth of the campaign total, will be used for scholarships and endowed faculty chairs, which will help recruit both the most-talented students and researchers to VCU. Slightly more than one-third of the total, about $63.8 million, will support medical research and patient care at VCU’s School of Medicine, Massey Cancer Center and Medical College of Virginia Hospitals. Campaign funds also were dedicated to start-up and construction costs for the new School of Engineering, which will graduate its inaugural undergraduate class in May, and the new Siegel Center, the convocation and student recreation facility that opened this spring.

Additionally, campaign funds are supporting the university’s expanding research and instructional programs in molecular sciences, life sciences and biotechnology, including the establishment of the Institute of Oral and Craniofacial Molecular Biology in the School of Dentistry. The campaign also is contributing to VCU’s interdisciplinary instructional and research centers, which focus on such issues as public policy and drug and alcohol studies.

"The success of this campaign is also a tribute to our partners – alumni, friends, government, foundations and businesses – and the connection they have made to VCU," Dr. Trani added.

"Partners for Progress" generated gifts from 56,695 donors, more than half of which (30,557) are VCU alumni who collectively gave $20.7 million. Another $65.5 million – representing the greatest percentage of total campaign dollars – was donated by 3,530 corporations.

About half of the total raised, or $83.7 million, was generated through leadership gifts of at least $1 million. Leadership gifts were contributed by 34 donors, which included alumni, individuals, corporations and foundations.