The University of Mary Washington will launch the public phase of a $75 million Centennial Campaign on Friday, March 14.
The date of the campaign launch coincides with the 100th anniversary of the institution’s founding.
“When we began this campaign in 2000, our goal was $40 million,” said Jeff Rountree, vice president for advancement. “When we surpassed the goal several years ahead of schedule, we decided to keep the momentum going and nearly double our initial target to $75 million. This is ambitious, but totally achievable.”
The Centennial Campaign aims to provide the University of Mary Washington with sufficient resources to attract and retain the best faculty and students, to ensure that the institution’s buildings are upgraded and new construction is funded, and to supplement the day-to-day operations of the institution. Currently, state support provides only 27 percent of the operating budget for UMW.
The comprehensive campaign aims to raise money through private gifts for vital areas of the university, including $35 million for endowments, $25 million for capital projects and campus enhancements, and $15 million for the Fund for Mary Washington. The “silent phase” of the campaign began on July 1, 2000, and a total of $63.7 million has been raised so far.
Endowments are invested funds that use interest earnings to provide a constant source of funding for the institution. Endowments at the University of Mary Washington include funds for faculty chairs and professorships to recruit, retain and support outstanding faculty; Alvey Scholarships, which provide a non-Virginia honor student at the university with a full, four-year academic scholarship; Washington Scholarships, which provide an honor student from Virginia with a full, four-year academic scholarship; faculty summer research fellowships; and named merit or need-based scholarships for students.
Capital projects include the renovation and construction of facilities at the university. These funds will assist in the construction, renovation and refurbishing of current academic facilities and housing. Several Centennial Campaign projects that already have been completed include the construction of the Jepson Alumni Executive Center, which opened in 2004; the construction of the University Tennis Center, which opened in 2005; the addition of the Carmen Culpeper Chappell ’59 Centennial Campanile, which was dedicated in 2007; enhancements to residence halls; and the acquisition of strategic land holdings.
The Fund for Mary Washington includes all unrestricted gifts to the university. This support funds the day-to-day operational needs of the university, including residential facilities, student and faculty enrichment programs and student activities.
“During the coming months, we will be taking the Centennial Campaign ‘on the road’ north to Philadelphia, New York and Boston, and then this summer, all the way to the west coast,” said William Crawley, Jr., distinguished professor of history, university historian, and national chair of the campaign. “We want Mary Washington alumni and friends and members of the community to hear about all the university has accomplished and, of course, offer their support to the Centennial Campaign.”
“The desire to ensure that Mary Washington’s special qualities – the beauty of the campus, the devotion of its faculty, and the camaraderie of the student body – continue and are enhanced in the future led Bill and me to agree to serve as National Chairs of the Centennial Campaign,” said Theresa Crawley, national chair and member of the class of 1977.
The funds are be raised by the University Advancement office, and the University of Mary Washington Foundation oversees the management and investment of all funds, including endowments. During the past 10 years, the UMW Foundation has contributed more than $35 million to Mary Washington programs and projects, and has grown total assets from less than $20 million in 1997 to nearly $70 million in 2007.
For more information, visit www.umw.edu/centennialcampaign.