Steering Council Prepares for 1.25 billion Capital Campaign

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Florida
1

<p>STEERING COUNCIL SET TO GUIDE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA CAPITAL CAMPAIGN</p>

<p>GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida’s Campaign Steering Council has been named to prepare for a major fundraising campaign that will help the university become one of the nation’s premier institutions of higher learning, university President Bernie Machen announced.</p>

<p>The nine-member council serves as a primary leadership body and participates in planning and policymaking for the campaign.</p>

<p>“These are people with long documented support of the University of Florida and who are also key figures in their communities. They will lead the charge for the campaign, and both encourage and motivate others to become involved,” Machen said.</p>

<p>Jacksonville banking executive Beth McCague and Coral Gables businessman Earl Powell are council co-chairs. McCague is managing director of wealth management for Wachovia-Jacksonville. Powell is chairman, CEO and co-founder of Trivest Partners. Other members are Jerry Davis of Jacksonville, Gary Gerson of Miami, Allen Lastinger of St. Augustine, Joan Ruffier of Orlando, Jon and Beverly Thompson of Sanibel, and Ward Wagner of Palm Beach. It’s anticipated that other volunteers will be added to the steering council as the campaign progresses.</p>

<p>The council will meet two or three times each year throughout the campaign, which is expected to run through 2012. </p>

<p>This is the University of Florida’s third capital campaign in its 153-year history. The previous campaign, which concluded in 2000, raised more than $850 million in support of the university’s threefold mission of education, research and service. The purpose of the new campaign is to provide funding for the programs and initiatives that will help the University of Florida achieve its potential as one of the top universities in the world </p>

<p><a href="http://www.uff.ufl.edu/News/PressRelease.asp?Story=66&HIVEDATA=zU%2FFJ5O%2Bjns2T4voYfiRuk5iPXFenSQ1Q2VoJxxdYmEN1x22CRVS1bNM2S%2BbTxd7Ra73TxMs8v0NOGeXKK2vJ2VmFGOaYMKqjfH3tClBQy15luwVQB1TJDWXXuAQu6Fs%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.uff.ufl.edu/News/PressRelease.asp?Story=66&HIVEDATA=zU%2FFJ5O%2Bjns2T4voYfiRuk5iPXFenSQ1Q2VoJxxdYmEN1x22CRVS1bNM2S%2BbTxd7Ra73TxMs8v0NOGeXKK2vJ2VmFGOaYMKqjfH3tClBQy15luwVQB1TJDWXXuAQu6Fs&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

2

<p>Thank you for sharing all of these articles about major donations and exciting prospects for UF!</p>

3

<p>I find it interesting that the University of Miami just rescently achieved their goal of around $1.25 billion. They are desperately in need of more funds than our state subsidized university. For instance most of the best private universities are raising around the $3 billion mark (ie: Cornell & USC). For private universities the single most determinant factor of US News rankings falls primarily on the endowment size. For public universities endowment size is very important but it isn't nearly as vital as it is for the private institutions. </p>

<p>Clearly the ambitious goal set by UF is far greater than the majority of public universities. This will be the most determining factor that will ultimately lead to UF achiving top 10 public status. We already have world class graduate programs and if you add that to our outstanding research expenditures, and soon to be multibillion dollar endowment, it will prove to be the trifecta that guarantees stronger rankings. Clearly the future is inevitably going to be very bright for Gatornation!</p>

<p>ps: Winning the National Championship is going to be absolutely HUGE in how it trickles down for Alumni Giving.</p>