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Carolina launches ambitious five-year, $4.25 billion comprehensive fundraising campaign
“For All Kind: The Campaign for Carolina” is the largest fundraising effort by a North Carolina university
(Chapel Hill, N.C.— Oct. 6, 2017) – The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill today launched the most ambitious fundraising campaign by a university in the history of the state. “For All Kind: the Campaign for Carolina” aims to raise $4.25 billion by Dec. 31, 2022, to foster an innovation generation prepared to lead the world to a better future through research and scholarship, example and ethos. This campaign is the largest in the Southeast and second largest among public institutions in the nation.
Students, faculty, staff, alumni, key stakeholders, campaign leaders and volunteers joined Board of Trustees chairman Haywood Cochrane, Chancellor Carol L. Folt and Vice Chancellor for Development David Routh for the announcement, which highlighted several gifts and initiatives supporting the Blueprint for Next, the University’s overarching strategic framework. Developed by Folt, to guide Carolina’s growth and future direction, the Blueprint’s key pillars — “Of the Public, for the Public” and “Innovation Made Fundamental” — uphold Carolina’s commitment to grow and evolve while remaining rooted in its public service mission.
“Our ambitious Campaign for Carolina unites us with a shared and meaningful vision for the future of our leading global public research university,” said Chancellor Carol L. Folt. “Underlying this clear vision lies the Blueprint for Next, a unifying strategic framework that guides our commitment to Carolina’s historic mission of providing superior educational opportunities at the best and most affordable price, conducting game-changing research, innovating for the public good and bringing health and prosperity to people in our state and beyond.”
In an overflow event on the campus’ historic Polk Place, Folt and Routh announced several gifts and signature initiatives to kick off the campaign. By the end of the weekend, the University will have announced over $100 million in support of the Campaign for Carolina’s priorities and the encompassing vision of the Blueprint for Next. Signature initiatives and gifts announced as part of the launch include:
- The Carolina Edge, a new campus-wide scholarship program focused on recruiting top students. Nearly 25 percent of the Campaign’s funds will help to expand Carolina’s deep commitment to access and affordability, as the University relies on philanthropic gifts to meet its promise to students. The campaign seeks to raise $1 billion as part of this initiative for undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships in areas such as the Carolina Covenant, middle-income scholarships, merit scholars, summer internship grants, athletics and graduate and professional school financial aid.
- A $50 million gift by alumnus and the Campaign for Carolina chair John L. Townsend III and his wife Marree Townsend. The commitment benefits several units on campus including the Ackland Art Museum, the College of Arts & Sciences, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and Carolina Athletics, with a fifth portion to be allocated at a later date.
- The continued expansion of the Ackland Art Museum thanks to three major art gifts collectively valued at $41.5 million. The diverse collections of work featuring a wide array of artists will increase the museum’s encyclopedic collection and accelerate its mission to become the preeminent public university art museum in the country. The Ackland expansion supports one of the campaign’s signature initiatives, Arts Everywhere, a groundbreaking, campus-wide arts initiative, which seeks to revolutionize academics and enhance public service at Carolina by investing in sustained creative practice, live arts experiences and arts learning.
- The creation of the UNC Institute for Convergent Science (ICS) a new signature campaign initiative. By embracing this emerging model for scientific research, Carolina aims to tackle the world’s biggest problems through greater cross-disciplinary collaboration among students, researchers and entrepreneurs with the goal of speeding the commercialization of new discoveries, breakthroughs and treatments.
“The incredible generosity of our donors like the Townsends will continue to provide the margin of excellence that makes Carolina better in everything we do,” said David Routh, Vice Chancellor for University Development. “The Campaign for Carolina will help us attract the best students and keep the most outstanding faculty members on our campus. We will be able to conduct research and deliver care that improves the lives of people across our state and around the world. The impact will be felt for many years ahead, by all kind.”
The four key priorities of the comprehensive fundraising campaign are:
- Students and the Educational Experience: The New Graduate focuses on scholarships, as well as supporting innovative teaching and experiential learning, with an emphasis on digital- and data-literacy, that prepares students for a fast-changing world. This includes providing access to a globally-focused education and creating buildings and spaces to optimize student success.
- Faculty and Scholarship: The 21st-Century Professoriate focuses on recruiting and retaining world-class faculty and providing an environment that inspires creativity, collaboration and service to the state and beyond. This includes supporting high-potential, high-reward research, creating buildings and spaces to optimize faculty success in teaching and multi-disciplinary research and developing a 21st century Professor of Practice program to ensure students learn from the top professionals in their fields.
- Innovation and Impact: A Culture of Innovation focuses on enhancing Carolina’s position as a preeminent translational research university and accelerating the pace of the University’s entrepreneurial ideas with commercial impact or social promise across the state, nation and world. This includes creating buildings and spaces that foster innovation and multi-disciplinary solutions and expanding thought-provoking arts programming to strengthen creativity and critical thinking among students, faculty and the community.
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- Signature Initiatives focus on addressing issuesand opportunities that emerge over the course of the campaign and leveraging Carolina’s strengths to remain responsive to the times and needs of the people. Three initial signature initiatives have been announced, with more to come:
- The Carolina Edge – to recruit the very best students
- The Institute for Convergent Science – to translate research into impact
- Arts Everywhere – to bring the arts to everyone on campus
Carolina’s last comprehensive campaign — “Carolina First: The Campaign for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill”— concluded on Dec. 31, 2007, during which more than 194,000 donors contributed $2.38 billion to support and advance UNC-Chapel Hill’s vision of becoming the nation’s leading public university. At that time, it was the fifth-largest fundraising total among completed campaigns in the history of U.S. higher education and the largest in the South.
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About the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is a global higher education leader known for innovative teaching, research and public service. A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Carolina regularly ranks as the best value for academic quality in U.S. public higher education. Now in its third century, the University offers 77 bachelor’s, 110 master’s, 64 doctorate and seven professional degree programs through 14 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences. Every day, faculty – including two Nobel laureates – staff and students shape their teaching, research and public service to meet North Carolina’s most pressing needs in every region and all 100 counties. Carolina’s more than 322,000 alumni live in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and 165 countries. More than 175,000 live in North Carolina.
University Development: Kim Elenez, (919) 962-1628, kelenez@email.unc.edu
University Communications: Media Relations, (919) 445-8555, mediarelations@unc.edu