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Columns::August 11, 2003
Back to normal
July flood damages Veterinary Medicine’s pathology department, radiology laboratories
No place like home: University launches its redesigned ‘gateway’ site
BFSO elects new officers, finalizes agenda for upcoming school year
Convocation marks beginning of academic year
Staff governance group elects new officers for 2003-04 academic year
Campus News
Show of support
Fund raising sets record in fiscal year 2003
By Larry B. Dendy
ldendy@uga.edu
UGA supporters gave the university a record $72.05 million in private gifts and pledges in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2003,
a 15 percent increase over last year. It is the first time in UGA history that single-year private giving has exceeded $70 million.
This year’s total is some $9.4 million more than the $62.7 million given in fiscal year 2002, which was also a record and the first time private giving topped $60 million. The total includes 14 gifts of $1 million or more from individuals.
“Private support for the University of Georgia makes a tremendous difference in our ability to enhance academic quality beyond the basic state funding,” says President Michael F. Adams. “More than ever before, the university’s supporters this year stepped up to provide that all-important margin of excellence.”
UGA’s record total comes at a time when private giving to higher education nationally is declining. According to a survey by Rand’s Council for Aid to Education, a private organization that tracks education giving, private gifts to colleges and universities nationally fell 1.2 percent in fiscal year 2002, the latest year for which figures are available. Nationwide, colleges and universities saw contributions from alumni drop 13.6 percent in the same period.
“In a period of considerable economic difficulty, this report is very heartening,” says Steve W. Wrigley, senior vice president for external affairs. “Tremendous credit goes not only to the alumni and friends who have made these generous gifts, but also to the deans, the development staff and others at the university who have worked so hard in this effort.”
Among the largest gifts to UGA were a $2.5 million estate gift, primarily for ecological studies in the College of Environment and Design; a gift of almost $2 million to establish an endowment in the Georgia Museum of Art; and a charitable lead trust worth $4.2 million to be distributed over 20 years to benefit athletics.
Other large gifts included $1 million for an endowed chair in the School of Public and International Affairs; $1 million for student leadership education; $1 million to support the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the Terry College of Business and the Athletic Association; and two charitable gift annuities totaling about $4 million to support the Athletic Association general endowment fund, the Terry College of Business and the UGA Foundation’s unrestricted endowment.
The university uses private dollars for such purposes as funding scholarships and fellowships for students, recruiting outstanding new faculty members, providing travel and research support for current faculty, and buying new classroom and lab equipment and books, periodicals and other materials for libraries.
Private gifts also support such university service units as the State Botanical Garden and the 4-H program and provide money for athletic scholarships and improvements to athletic facilities. |
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