AUSTIN, Texas The University of Texas at Austin has successfully completed its historic Campaign for Texas by raising $856 million in 2013-14, an amount believed to be the largest ever raised by any Texas institution in a single year.
During the eight-year campaign, which ended at midnight on Aug. 31, the university received an estimated $3.1 billion in gifts, pledges and donations. It was the largest capital campaign ever conducted in Texas and among the most successful campaigns ever completed by a public university in the United States.
“Our alumni and supporters have given the greatest gift a university could ever seek: They have helped ensure that future generations of UT students will be able to learn, grow and prepare for the future at a university that remains one of the nation’s premier public research institutions,” said university President Bill Powers. “We are grateful for every gift we received during the Campaign for Texas, many of which will help our faculty change the world through their research and scholarship.”
Among all public and private institutions, the university is ranked No. 27 in the world by Times Higher Education.
The campaign coincided with the university’s efforts to strengthen its undergraduate core curriculum, launch the School of Undergraduate Studies, raise its four-year graduation rates and develop programs to help first-generation college students. It was built on the vision of the Commission of 125, a group of esteemed alumni and supporters who, in 2004, laid out a vision for UT Austin’s growing excellence.
“The campaign’s goal of $3 billion was accomplished despite one of the worst economic times since the Great Depression,” said UT Austin alumnus Kenny Jastrow, who chaired both the Commission of 125 and the Campaign for Texas. “Thank you to our alumni and friends who had the vision and commitment to help the university we all love succeed.”
Every gift from loose change collected by a UT Elementary kindergarten student to large-scale lead gifts has helped advance the university. The university has reached new heights with the launch of the Dell Medical School, major transformations of the Moody College of Communication and Butler School of Music, and expanded collections at the Harry Ransom Center and the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.
Students benefited from the construction of new buildings, state-of-the-art classrooms and cutting-edge research spaces throughout the Forty Acres, including the College of Liberal Arts Building, the Belo Center for New Media, and The Bill and Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex and Dell Computer Science Hall, and those under construction, including the Engineering Education and Research Center and the McCombs School of Business’ Rowling Hall.
Other highlights of the campaign:
- The university received 403 gifts of $1 million and greater. More than 226,000 distinct donors have donated a total of $105,688,825 with individual gifts of less than $1,000.
- Nearly 90 percent of contributions supported academic efforts, and 10 percent supported athletics initiatives.
- Planned-gift designations more than doubled to 1,232, a 111 percent increase since the start of the campaign. The designations represented $485,056,050 in future gifts.
- More than 846 new student scholarships were established.
“UT students have benefited immensely from the campaign, which created new scholarships and helped build new classrooms and lab space,” said Student Government President Kori Rady, a senior in the Moody College of Communication and College of Liberal Arts. “Students also helped make this campaign a success by contributing to the university like never before.”
Check out the slideshow below for a snapshot of the university’s achievements over the past eight years.
To download a compete media kit with additional campaign results and images, please click on the image below.
