UT Completes Most Ambitious Campaign Supported by the Most Individual Gifts in University History
The University’s 10-year What Starts Here campaign surpasses its $6 billion goal with more than $7.45 billion raised in philanthropic support.
Fireworks light up the night sky behind the UT Tower at the public launch of the What Starts Here campaign in March 2022.
With participation from over 358,291 donors and over $7.45 billion raised in philanthropic support, The University of Texas at Austin has concluded its What Starts Here campaign. The University surpassed its $6 billion goal, making this the most successful fundraising campaign in UT history.
The decade-long effort expanded opportunities for students; strengthened faculty recruitment, resources and research; and transformed spaces across the Forty Acres. It also laid the groundwork for advances in healthcare and the establishment of the UT Dell Medical Center and UT Dell Medicine, the academic health system that will serve Central Texas and beyond.
The campaign began in September 2016 and publicly launched in March 2022. By its close, 251,757 new donors had joined the community of supporters investing in UT’s future. In total, the campaign raised $7.45 billion from 358,291 donors. Among the campaign’s highlights:
- $1.4 billion in student support, including over 2,000 new scholarship, fellowship and student support endowments, bringing the total scholarships and fellowships to 5,745.
- Through efforts like Dell Scholars and the Texas Challenge gift-matching scholarship program, 1 in 3 students in the Class of 2029 have their tuition fully covered.
- $350 million in faculty support to strengthen teaching, mentorship and discovery.
- $1.08 billion in research support, advancing work on challenges in fields including energy, artificial intelligence and health.
- $70 million to restore and revitalize the UT Tower for its next 100 years.
- Nine new buildings, eight named departments and 30 named centers, institutes and clinics, creating places and programs for learning, collaboration and research.
Student support was a defining priority. In January 2024, UT became the first university in Texas to raise $1 billion for students through a philanthropic campaign. Gifts have supported scholarships and fellowships, emergency assistance and programs that help students succeed throughout their time at UT.
“I am proud of what we have accomplished with the What Starts Here Campaign. The level of support from our alumni is unmatched,” said Phil Canfield, BBA ’89, who is a member of the What Starts Here Executive Committee. “We are living proof of how The University of Texas changes lives. All of us, along with the faculty and staff, are excited to put this money to work for the benefit of our students and generations of future students.”
The campaign’s impact will be felt for decades to come as students pursue their degrees, faculty advance new ideas, and donor-supported spaces welcome future Longhorns. Across the University, the generosity of UT’s alumni and friends will help shape what starts here next.
