<p>Any rumors floating around campus as to what the number will be for the capital campaign goal?</p>
<p>I'm planning to attend the big kickoff celebration on College Green (does anyone still call it that?) this Saturday night, but I'm curious as to whether any of you current students has heard anything.</p>
<p>They are keeping it a secret until the announcement. I'd say it has to be at least $4 billion. Columbia and Cornell both have asked for $4 billion. Penn was the first university to raise $1 billion (how quaint), having done so in the late 80s/early 90s. So we have to keep smashing the joneses ;)</p>
<p>Stanford's at 4.3 billion, so if we're trying to beat the Jonses, something like 4.5 billion would do it.</p>
<p>Personally, I'd like to see 5 or even 6 billion as the goal, to really send the message that Penn has "momentum unmatched by any other institution," as Amy puts it. Let's see--3 billion for additional endowment (endowed scholarships, professorships, etc.) and 3 billion for new buildings and eastern expansion. Yeah, that sounds pretty good. :)</p>
<p>I am curious as to who the celebrity guest dj at the celebration will be:
John Legend? Will Smith? Lee Stetson?</p>
<p>Don't be surprised if a mega gift is announced at the kickoff!</p>
<p>Maybe Lee's coming back to head up the campaign--that's why all the secrecy about the reason he "left". :p</p>
<p>They should announce they're starting the eastern expansion right away. With the construction boom imploding they could probably lock in some sweet deals on building all those spiffy new buildings.</p>
<p>I hate waiting.</p>
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Personally, I'd like to see 5 or even 6 billion as the goal,
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<p>A goal too high has two -- or three -- potential problems: 1) It looks bad to fall short of it; 2) If it is made big for the sake of being big, it doesn't cover genuine needs, a fact that can be a real turnoff to potential donors; and 3) There are more and more donors that think the multi-billion dollar endowments of Ivy League schools are obscene -- even those who have attended the school. Though admittedly this attention applies to other Ivy League schools typically.</p>
<p>The other thing is these campaigns are actually like endless war. An old one ends and a new one begins.... Two 3 billion dollar campaigns, or one 6 billion dollar one. There's not a huge difference ultimately.</p>
<p>The other problem is that Penn has managed to drag its feet on this thing until we are standing the verge of a recession. Whoops!</p>
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it doesn't cover genuine needs
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<p>Until Penn has enough money to:</p>
<p>-Shamelessly poach the very best faculty from the world's leading universities and bring all 12 schools to unquestioned preeminence</p>
<p>-Demolish every building built between 1950 and 1990 and replace them with something less tacky (especially Superblock)</p>
<p>-Develop the entire eastern end of campus without waiting 30 years to do it</p>
<p>-Give enough financial aid to make Penn free for everyone</p>
<p>-Refurbish crumbling urban infrastructure (streets, curbs, sidewalks) throughout University City</p>
<p>-Make the police force so huge as to saturate the entire neighborhood and make crime negligible</p>
<p>-Deal with the costs of changing the upenn.edu domain to penn.edu</p>
<p>Then there will always be genuine needs to cover.</p>
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Then there will always be genuine needs to cover.
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<p>So you can look after the announcement and see how many of the stated priorities overlap with your list....that'll be interesting.</p>
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The other problem is that Penn has managed to drag its feet on this thing until we are standing the verge of a recession. Whoops!
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<p>For the public phase, yes. But I believe the campaign has already gone on for awhile. Anyway, recession typically doesn't affect the really big gifts...maybe some of the smaller ones.</p>
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A goal too high has two -- or three -- potential problems: 1) It looks bad to fall short of it; 2) If it is made big for the sake of being big, it doesn't cover genuine needs, a fact that can be a real turnoff to potential donors; and 3) There are more and more donors that think the multi-billion dollar endowments of Ivy League schools are obscene -- even those who have attended the school. Though admittedly this attention applies to other Ivy League schools typically.
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I agree that these are potential problems with campaigns in general, but not so much for Penn in this particular campaign:</p>
<p>1) A shortfall is always a potential problem, but so far Penn has met--and usually exceeded--every campaign goal it has set in at least the last 40 or so years, including its very ambitious (for the time) $1 billion+ campaign in the 1990s. Plus, this campaign is somewhat unique in that they're promoting it--literally--as a "once-in-a-century opportunity" to push Penn to the next--i.e., highest--level of eminence (Amy's words and main theme since she first took office). It's a this-is-our-moment kind of thing, that Penn currently has (again in Amy's words) "momentum unmatched by any other institution" (which is certainly true when the past 15 years are considered), and that we have to take our best shot now to capitalize on that momentum and seal the deal. The potentially transformational nature of this campaign gives it a unique appeal not usually seen is these types of campaigns. Again in Amy's words: "In front of us is the path to eminence--a campaign that promises to make Penn not only a university of distinction but also one that will model for the world a 21st-century vision for higher education." I.e., this is our chance to rise to the level of HYPS--not a claim normally made for a single campaign, but clearly the message being sent here (and echoed by things I've heard Amy say in person, also). With this kind of audacious pre-campaign promotion, any goal even close to the current benchmarks at Stanford, Columbia, and Cornell would be a real let-down.</p>
<p>2) As Johnny pointed out, Penn has more than enough genuine needs to justify a $5-6 billion campaign. Even with its significant 65% growth over the past couple of years, Penn's endowment is still far below the level of those schools for which it seeks to be viewed as a peer (see #1, above). Further, on a per capita basis, Penn's endowment doesn't even rank among the top 50 schools, if I remember correctly. Moreover, to accomplish the goals of financial aid and accessibility that Amy has made her #1 cause celebre, and the extensive faculty growth and development that she has also championed, a much larger endowment is required. And, as Johnny also points out, in addition to endowment requirements, there are the uniquely large physical plant needs of the eastern campus expansion, the extensive physical overhaul of large portions of the existing campus, and investment in the surrounding neighborhood, which on their own could easily consume a $3-4 billion capital campaign.</p>
<p>3) I think the "obscenity factor" might be a concern if Penn were sitting on a $25-35 billion endowment a la Harvard and Yale, but its current $6.6 billion endowment can't even begin to cover the needs outlined above for a school of its size. I doubt that any significant number of people who are well-informed about this (i.e., big donors) will view Penn's fundraising efforts or its endowment as "obscene".</p>
<p>To summarize, my sense is that Amy and the trustees believe that for Penn to reach the next level--which is obviously their goal--a bit of audacity is required. A $5-6 billion goal would fill that bill. Anything less would be "just another $4 billion campaign." But we'll know for sure in 3 days. :)</p>
<p>So is the kickoff on the College Green or in those giant white tents on the parking lot that will someday be known as Penn Park? I've been getting mixed messages..</p>
<p>These tents <a href="http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/whatsNew/construction/ppark.php3%5B/url%5D">http://www.facilities.upenn.edu/whatsNew/construction/ppark.php3</a></p>
<p>The kickoff celebration is on the Green:</p>
<p>Don't know what that parking lot action is all about.</p>
<p>45 Percenter an excellent analysis.</p>
<p>The celebration is on the College Green. I am really looking forward to it.</p>
<p>So am I. I'll see you there! :)</p>
<p>It's DJ Jazzy Jeff.</p>
<p>That's seriously what I heard.</p>
<p>Hmmmmmmmm. :(</p>
<p>if we're a current UG did we need to register to go?</p>
<p>After registering for the kickoff on the alumni web site, I was emailed a ticket with instructions to bring it on Saturday evening, so you might.</p>
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I agree that these are potential problems with campaigns in general, but not so much for Penn in this particular campaign:
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<p>Everything you said seems to have a fair amount of basis, but even with these reasons laid out, I don't think the size of the campaign is ultimately all that important once it's above a certain amount. It strikes me that a 5-6 billion campaign merely to be bigger than other campaigns out there -- which is essentially what some posters have suggested -- is a bit silly. I mean Harvard has what a $35 billion endowment and I've heard their people say they need even more...Everyone with an interest in an institution always says it needs more. The question for people close to the fundraising action is to put the proper dimensions on achievable goals in light of seemingly infinite needs. If you think Penn should have a campaign of $5-6 just to be bigger, by the same logic shouldn't you be suggesting it go for a $10 billion campaign to be a blockbuster. I don't know what the campaign will turn out to be, but I would actually defer to the administration to make wise choices apart from a "size matters" kind of approach. Campaigns are not zero-sum sports events.</p>