Bloomington Endowment Campaign sets records

IU first in Big Ten publics in endowed faculty

By Barbara Coffman

The number of endowed faculty positions on the Bloomington campus alone increased 178 percent, from 72 to 200. Endowments supporting students on the Bloomington campus also increased dramatically, from 888 to 1,543.

“The Endowment Campaign for Indiana University Bloomington lays a solid foundation for IU’s future. Since endowments are invested, they create an ongoing, permanent source of funding for faculty and student support,” said IU President Myles Brand. “A strong endowment base enables IU to attract—and retain—outstanding faculty. It also allows us to provide scholarships for the nation’s brightest graduate and undergraduate students. The campaign was a genuine triumph, and it will enable the university to reach new heights of excellence.”

The campaign, which was launched in July 1994 and concluded in December 2000, focused on increasing endowed support for faculty and students and raised $504 million, far exceeding its goal of $350 million, said Brand. The campaign total includes gifts and pledges for endowment, annual support for current spending and non-governmental grants. Endowments enhance rather than replace state support.

“This campaign is remarkable in a number of ways,” said Bloomington Chancellor and IU Vice President Kenneth R.R. Gros Louis. “First is the unprecedented level of support from faculty and staff, who contributed more than $27 million. According to IU Foundation President Curt Simic, this is, to our knowledge, the highest ‘insider’ total contributed to any public university campaign to date. IU’s faculty and staff, along with alumni and friends, have certainly done their part to step up to the challenge of providing for quality education at IU.

“Second, every college and school, plus the Art Museum and Athletics, exceeded their individual goals, which is very rare for a comprehensive campaign,” added Gros Louis. “Finally, this campaign is remarkable for the enormous and enduring effect it is having, and will continue to have, on the Bloomington campus. Most campaigns target specific areas. This campaign has raised the quality of the campus across the board.”

According to Simic, an important factor in the success of the campaign, and of fund- raising for IU as a whole during this period, was an innovative program established by Brand.

“The president and the trustees set aside $6 million to match the income generated by new endowment gifts of $500,000 or more,” said Simic. “This was a great incentive to prospective donors since it doubled the immediate impact of their gifts.” One hundred twenty-four endowed faculty positions benefited from the match.

The IU Foundation’s board of directors were also very generous donors, said Simic. “The 72 current, lifetime and honorary members created 25 endowed faculty positions and dozens of scholarships. As a group, they contributed $78 million to the campaign.” Four foundation board members chaired the volunteer national steering committee for the campaign. The four, who are also IU alumni, are Barbara B. Jacobs, Cleveland; John F. Kimberling, Palm Springs, Calif.; Donald C. Danielson, Indianapolis; and William P. Carmichael, Chicago.

For information about the IU Foundation, go to this Web site:

http://www.iufoundation.iu.edu/bec/

Big Ten Public Universities

Number of Endowed Faculty Positions 2000*

Indiana University, 333

University of Minnesota, 303

University of Wisconsin, 300

University of Iowa, 236

University of Michigan, 234

University of Illinois, 208

Pennsylvania State University, 203

Ohio State University, 186

Purdue University, 48

Michigan State University, 38

*As reported for all campuses

(Source: Endowment Campaign surveys.)

en•dow•ment (en-dou´-m nt) n. 1. Money invested for future growth, with only a portion of the return being used today. 2. One of the best vehicles a university can use to keep tuition costs affordable. 3. A good strategy to offset the effects of inflation and pressures on state appropriations. 4. An important aid in attracting and retaining today’s outstanding faculty as well as tomorrow’s brightest scholars.