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The future these days looks exciting. The University is unveiling a historic fund-raising campaign this spring that is a quantum leap beyond anything it has ever attempted before. The Campaign for the University at Albany aims to raise $500 million in private support when the counting is done on June 30, 2008. That makes it the largest comprehensive fund-raising effort of any public university in the history of New York State. Indeed, only a handful of public universities in America have ever raised more money. The Campaign for the University at Albany will provide the momentum to lift the University to an undisputed place among the nation’s great public research universities. The Campaign’s goals are wide-ranging: strengthen UAlbany’s endowment, increase undergraduate merit scholarships and endowed graduate fellowships, establish endowed chairs and professorships for the faculty, update teaching and research facilities, and help construct and equip new buildings. As a comprehensive campaign, the effort will benefit the entire University: all three of its campuses, nine professional schools and colleges, 600-plus faculty members and 17,000 undergraduates and graduate students.
The $500 million goal is a daunting number. It’s nearly ten times larger than the $55 million campaign the University carried out to celebrate its sesquicentennial in the early 1990s. It will require unprecedented levels of investment by alumni, parents, friends, foundations, corporations and others. But Dr. D’Ambra, a member of the University’s Campaign Development Committee, firmly believes in going for it. “If you think small, you’ll always be small. If you think big, you’ll have a shot. But if you don’t try, you’ll never know,” he said. Dr. D’Ambra has already tested his convictions firsthand. He is chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Albany Molecular Research Inc. (AMRI), a drug development and biotechnology research company he co-founded in 1991. Today AMRI has some 600 employees. Hearst, associate publisher of the Albany Times Union, also believes the Campaign goal is achievable. “It’s an extraordinarily ambitious campaign, but the University itself is ambitious,” said Hearst, who is also president of The University at Albany Foundation Board of Directors and chair of the Foundation’s Campaign Development Committee. "The University is on an incredible upward curve in terms of the excellence and expanding breadth of its academic programs. Under (President) Karen Hitchcock’s leadership, it is focusing more of its energies on reaching out to the community and finding out how that knowledge can be applied to society’s problems. “That kind of ‘big picture’ vision requires a campaign of this magnitude, especially in the face of ever-tightening state budgets. Is it going to be a stretch? It definitely will be, both for the University and its donors. But the Committee believes that what we are aiming to accomplish is very compelling, and that UAlbany’s friends and alumni will respond. I like our chances.” Hearst pointed out that only about one dollar in every five the University spends to operate every year comes from taxpayers. “Clearly, to become better, it must rely more and more on private support,” he said. Perhaps the most important goal of the Campaign is to build UAlbany’s endowment, a critical underpinning for the long-range future. It is now a modest $13.4 million.
By contrast, the endowment at Michigan State University is $523 million; the University of Maryland at College Park, $453 million; Rutgers, $387 million; and the University of Connecticut, $157 million. Within the State University of New York (SUNY) system, the University at Buffalo, with its rich tradition of private support, has an endowment of $388 million. Stony Brook’s endowment is $40 million and Binghamton’s is $35.8 million. About 40 percent of UAlbany’s campaign is targeted for new endowment dollars. “Strengthening our endowment is critical,” said Robert Ashton, who as the University’s vice president for Advancement is its chief fund-raising officer. “Historically, endowments have been so important to building great public universities because they provide a reliable source of flexible funds. They allow a university to respond to unanticipated opportunities and challenges nimbly, quickly, in a time frame that’s not typically accommodated by the public budget process.” In the past, Ashton pointed out, the main distinction between public and private universities was that the “privates” counted on large endowments for steady income, while public institutions relied on public funds for operations. That picture, however, has changed over the last two decades, with fewer and fewer taxpayer dollars being invested in public universities nationwide. Last year, only about 20 percent of the University’s $284 million operating budget came from state appropriations, excluding debt service and employee benefits. “It’s become clear that public sources (of revenue) are neither reliable nor sufficient to sustain excellence in our public higher education systems,” he said. “That’s why (SUNY) Chancellor (Robert) King is encouraging all of the campuses in the SUNY system to seek private support. And it’s why (UAlbany President) Karen Hitchcock is pressing for endowment support on this campus that will provide a steady source of income that we can plan on, budget for, and build programs around.” In UAlbany’s case, a lot of the money is already in hand. The campaign actually began on July 1, 1998 with the first dollars that were contributed to the $3.5 million drive to furnish and equip UAlbany’s new library. The “silent period” ends on April 25 with two days of campus celebrations officially announcing the campaign. To date, the University has taken in an estimated $170 million, with another $100 million in firm commitments.
The biggest gifts so far reflect UAlbany’s international strength in nanosciences and nanoengineering, an area of explosive development in the last two years. The first was a historic $100 million in funds and equipment from IBM in April of 2001 to establish the Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics. It represented the largest gift in UAlbany history and the single largest donation ever by IBM. As evidence of the multiplier impact of private philanthropy, little more than a year after the IBM gift was announced, SEMATECH, a consortium of the world’s leading computer chip manufacturers, announced an initial investment of $193 million to establish a research and development facility at the Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics. After nanotechnology, two other Campaign priorities that stand out are an entirely new building for the University’s School of Business, at an estimated cost of $25 million, and the Life Sciences Research Initiative, with a goal of $20 million. The new Business Education Center, planned for the west end of the academic podium, will provide a state-of-the-art facility for the highly regarded business program. The keystone of the Life Sciences Research Initiative is a $78 million life sciences building now rising on the east side of the podium and scheduled for completion in 2004. While the State is paying for the construction, the University is seeking $8 million in private support to furnish and equip it and another $12 million to recruit and support the nationally prominent research teams who will work there. Dr. D’Ambra, who is chairing the Life Sciences Initiative, and his wife Connie have pledged $1 million to launch the fund-raising effort.
“It’s clear that (President) Karen Hitchcock is working to take the University to the next level of excellence — something I totally support and agree with,” said Dr. D’Ambra. “I wanted to do my part in a small way as the University works to upgrade itself to the same category as the Big Ten schools in the Midwest and the top state schools on the West Coast. The history (of higher education) is different in New York. There’s no reason the University at Albany can’t be in the same league. There’s a long way to go, but there’s no reason it can’t happen.” He predicted that the University could someday reach the same level of excellence in biotechnology that it has already achieved in nanotechnology. “When I came to the Albany area in 1982, I didn’t realize how big UAlbany was. It was just quietly coexisting, even though it had thousands of students. You really don’t appreciate that the University is there, or recognize all that it brings to the community. Now I think that is changing. It’s a university in transition.” Hearst believes that partnering with UAlbany makes good business sense. “We support the University because we know there’s a real return on investment. The work that’s going on at the University is going to have consequences, and affect the way people live their lives — not just in the Capital Region or the state, or even the nation. It’s going to shape how mankind goes forward, in all of our futures.”
On campus, this team of business and alumni leaders is joined by President Hitchcock, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Carlos Santiago, and a group of 12 deans. Although largely new to fund-raising, the deans are embracing it with energy and imagination. Provost Santiago, UAlbany’s chief academic officer, said that while the deans now have more responsibility for fund-raising, they also have more to say about how those funds will be spent. “It’s a new role for deans at public institutions nationwide, and a new responsibility for deans here," said Santiago. "Not only do they have to garner those resources, but they will have the responsibility of very carefully investing them. So it’s an opportunity to shape the future of a program.”
“Those old buildings bring back so many good memories,” Whittlesey said. “I always felt privileged just to step inside them. There is such a degree of awe — at least there was for me. I remember (as a freshman), stepping inside Draper and thinking, ‘This is where I can find out just how far I can go.’” She went a long way indeed, teaching for three years, marrying and raising a family, then becoming active in the Republican party, where she became friends with Nelson Rockefeller and was appointed the national committeewoman from New York State. Whittlesey has maintained her ties with the University and been a tireless volunteer on its behalf, including serving as president of the Alumni Association in the early 1970s. She lives in Scotia, a few minutes from UAlbany’s main campus.
“I
think the feelings that our graduates have for this era will bring out
a response,” she said. “We want the downtown campus to continue
to be a vital part of the University.” “I think it will be a good way for the University and its alumni to reconnect,” he said. “As alumni, we have received something very valuable from the University. Now, we need to look out for the University. In the past, some of us may have questioned the need to support UAlbany as a public institution. But we received much more than just a service for a fee. We received an entire experience that can’t be replicated. The University must rely on private support because it isn’t coming from the State anymore. There is no other way. We support the Campaign, and we want it to succeed.” Some of the largest individual gifts in the quiet phase of UAlbany’s campaign have come from its graduates. A $1 million gift from the estate of Carla Rizzo Delray, B.A.’42, of Albany, is earmarked for the Life Sciences Research Initiative. Marjorie Ferrugio Delmar, B.A.’58, M.A.’63, of Huntington, Long Island, has made two estate commitments: $250,000 for the Center for Jewish Studies and $450,000 to establish an endowment to support the School of Education (UAlbany magazine, January 2003). Ted Anderson, a UA Foundation Board member (UAlbany, January 2003) pledged $100,000. James Spence, B.A.’39, M.A.’47, Ed.D.’62, a retired educator from Gainesville, Fla., committed $100,000 toward the establishment of a program to develop Spence scholars at UAlbany. Irene Harbison and the Harbison family have launched an endowment initiative in memory of the late Ralph Harbison, dean of the School of Education. The fund, which is targeted at $500,000, will provide graduate fellowships to students from developing countries who are studying education. Arvid J. Burke, B.A.’28, served on the faculty for many years and was nationally recognized as an authority on public school financing. On his death, the proceeds of a trust which he and his late wife, Mary, had established were used to fund a scholarship in the School of Education and a fellowship in biology. The endowments total $500,000. “Bequests
are important resources dedicated to the future of the University,”
said Sorrell Chesin, associate vice president for planned giving. Recent
bequests, he said, include $220,000 from Mary Whitney Eager, B.A.’48,
M.A.’49; $115,000 from Helena Ubelle Whitaker, B.A.’29, and
$175,000 from Frida Lundell Lewis, B.A.’34.
Chesin noted that Albany’s Charitable Gift Annuity Program provides an opportunity for donors to make a contribution while receiving an assured income for life. The University has received gift annuities ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 recently from Bert and Louise DeAngelis Hall, B.A.’42, from Ken and Thelma Miller Abele, B.A.’38, and from Martin and Joyce McCullum Kenosian, B.A.’49. A number of existing donors funded additional gift annuities, including Roy and Margaret Raycheff Williams, B.A.’44; Malcolm E. Blum, B.A.’54; mathematics professor George E. Martin, B.A.’54; biology professor Margaret M. Stewart; librarian emeritus Alice Hastings Murphy, M.L.S.’40; and Professor Emeritus (Information Science and Policy) Pauline M. Vaillancourt and her sister, Murielle T. Vaillancourt.
Planned gifts, Chesin said, play an important role in every college fund-raising campaign. “Bequests can assure that a portion of one’s estate can meet a philanthropic objective, with the proceeds dedicated to an area of interest,” he said. “Life income gifts can serve a dual purpose of providing a flow of lifetime income while also strengthening our educational program in the years ahead. Even a life insurance policy can become a charitable gift.” Ruth Killoran, associate vice president for the campaign, said the University has already done a great deal of homework in preparation for the campaign. Historically, about 90 percent of the gifts come from ten percent of the donors, she said, and the University expects this campaign to follow that pattern. But UAlbany will need thousands and thousands of gifts of all sizes, and from a diversity of donors, to be successful, she added. “Participation levels make a powerful statement about the breadth of our support,” Killoran said. “We are hopeful that our alumni and friends will be as excited as we are by this campaign, which has the potential to transform UAlbany from an already well regarded institution into one of the nation’s top 25 public research universities.”
The Campaign will count all of the philanthropic support received through June 30, 2008: endowments, gifts in kind, planned and estate gifts. The Annual Fund, which is expected to generate $14.5 million during the Campaign, will provide flexible, unrestricted funds for the University even as friends and alumni stretch to help meet the new goals for endowment and facilities. Beyond the money raised, the Campaign for the University at Albany has already generated some spin-off benefits. “We’ve learned that in many parts of this University, we are already far better than anyone realizes,” Ashton said. “Many of our graduate programs — criminal justice, public health, social welfare, sociology, for example — are among the best in the world right now. But we also know that to maintain this excellence, and to strategically expand it to other programs, we must be more competitive financially.” “My
hope is that when we look back on this Campaign years from now, the world
will know we accomplished something. It’s the seeds we plant now
that will make
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homas
D’Ambra, Ph.D., views the University at Albany as a quiet giant.
George R. Hearst III thinks of it as a dynamic community partner. But
Eunice B. Whittlesey, B.A.’44, is more emotional when she describes
her alma mater. “It’s this absolutely amazing place with a
wonderful heritage that is now reaching into the future,” she says.
hittlesey,
a member of the Class of 1944, views the fund-raising effort in a more
personal way. It reflects her own experience during what she remembers
as UAlbany’s “golden era” as the New York State College
for Teachers (1914 to 1962). She is heading up the Campaign for the Downtown
Campus, a kind of “campaign within the Campaign” to raise
$10 million toward renovating the six century-old buildings that were
the original home of the College for Teachers. The complex, which today
houses four of the University’s premier graduate programs (See UAlbany
magazine, Fall 2001), holds a special place in the hearts of alumni from
that era. 
