University to Kick Off Capital Campaign

The University will officially kick off the largest capital campaign in the history of higher education today, in the first fundraising effort ever to include all of Harvard's ten schools.

In a press conference yesterday, President Neil L. Rudenstine announced the opening of the $2.1 billion University Campaign.

Alumni and organizers will flood the campus this weekend for a series of presentations, discussions and social events to open the campaign.

The unprecedented interschool cooperation of the drive marks Rudenstine's attempt to bring together an institution he once called "fiendishly decentralized."

The official commencement of the drive caps more than two years of planning--and fundraising--at the highest levels of the University and across all of its schools.

The campaign will focus on improving the University's existing resources and on minimizing capital additions, Rudenstine said yesterday.

"The campaign is not about expansion," the president said. "It puts a very high premium on making more of what we have... in an integrated way."

In a campaign brochure, Rudenstine says he hopes to "forge creative links between the University's different parts."

To that end, the president said Wednesday he had participated in hundreds of hours of meetings over a two-year period with the deans of the University's ten schools.

Through these meeting, in which each school submitted a list of needs and a budget, the deans became familiar with the problems facing each of Harvard's separate faculties, Rudenstine said.

The University is "in a time of scarce resources," according to Rudenstine, because the era of plentiful funding that began after World War II ended in the early '80s and was replaced with a period in which universities have a much harder time garnering contributions.

In an interview detailing the UniversityCampaign process Wednesday, Rudenstine used theterm "lining the envelope" to describe hisstrategy of improvement rather than expansion.

Of the $2.1 billion total, the largest segmentis the $965 million target of the Faculty of Artsad Sciences (FAS).

Harvard's professional schools' goals total$861 million, with the Business School topping thelist at $220 million.

The final $235 million will go to the newlycreated President's University Fund, thecenterpiece of Rudenstine's centralizationefforts. The fund will be used to support newinitiatives and to bolster financially strappedsegments of the University as needed.

Rudenstine yesterday, listed five "themes" onwhich he sees the campaign focusing: improvingundergraduate teaching, increasing andstrengthening interfaculty programs, addinginternational programs, redesigning professionaleducation and ensuring the availability of studentaid.

The administration hopes to create about 85 newfaculty positions, including 40 in the Faculty,Rudenstine said. The FAS positions alone willrequire more than $100 million, he said.

The majority of the $2.1 billion will go tosupporting teaching, research, and public serviceprograms, which consume about 48 percent ofHarvard's $1.3 billion annual budget.

In addition, about 11 percent of the campaign'sfunds will go to projects such as improvinginformation technology and bringing all ofHarvard's libraries on-line.

An additional 13 percent of the money willsupport student scholarships on both the graduateand undergraduate levels.

The campaign brochure includes, for thatprospective donor who has everything, a shoppinglist of potential donations.

The big spender, for example, could name theHarvard Law Library for $25 million or establish anew and renovated home for the Governmentdepartment for $23 million.

More frugal donors can name a "room or specialarea" in an undergraduate house for $250,000 to$500,000, or establish a faculty research positionat the Business School for just $100,000.

Campaign organizers painted the fund-raisingdrive in optimistic and sometimes dramatic termsyesterday. Campaign Chair Robert G. Stone Jr. '45called the campaign "a new beginning to prepareHarvard for the next century."

Stone said a nucleus fund of $652,143,148,approximately one-third of the campaign goal, hadalready been accumulated at the time of the pressconference.

Despite a successful start, Rudenstine saidthat the University is left with the task ofmaintaining the pace of fundraising, which he says"will be very, very hard."

"It's going to mean $300 million a year forfive years, which I reckon is almost $1 million aday," Rudenstine said at the 10:30 a.m. pressconference. "It's already almost lunch, 12o'clock, and I haven't done anything yet today,"Rudenstine joked.

Although the campaign promises to bechallenging, Stone pointed out that it has alreadybeen more successful in drawing large gifts thanany other in the University's past. Stone saidfive donations already received have been inexcess of $20 million.

By contrast, the last capital campaign in theFaculty of Arts and Sciences succeeded in raisingonly one gift of $9 million over its entireduration, Rudenstine said Wednesday.

So far younger donors have played a key role inthe fundraising and Stone said he foresaw youngermoney as the key to this campaign's success.

"More than $50 million dollars came from alumnifrom the class of 1960 or later," Stone said.

Alumni will play a crucial role in organizingand raising fund for the capital campaign,Rudenstine said yesterday.

The three national chairs are Stone, Richard L.Menschel and William F. Thompson '50. Menschel,who is a 1959 Business School graduate, said hewill also be chairing the campaign for the Schoolof Public Health. Thompson is a 1954 BusinessSchool graduate.

And Sharon E. Gagnon, president of the HarvardAlumni Association, said a network of more than1,000 of Harvard's 230,000 alumni will helpcoordinate the solicitation.

Harvard's first capital campaign was held in1904-05 and raised $2.5 million for facultysalaries.

The University's most recent major fund-raisingeffort was the Harvard Campaign of 1985, whichraised $358 million for the endowment,overshooting its goal by more than $100 million.

Many other schools have recently begun orcompleted fund drives.

Stanford began the first billion-dollar funddrive in 1986 and exceeded its $1.1 billion goalby $600 million.

In the Ivy League, the University ofPennsylvania recently completed a $1.3 billioneffort and Cornell, Columbia and Yale arepresently closing in on the billion-dollar mark.

Harvard's $2.1 billion goal eclipses by far theprevious record for a campaign target, Yale's $1.5billion effort.Photo Courtesy University Campaign, Ed.MalitskyROBERT G. STONE, JR. '45 chairs the campaigncommittee.

In an interview detailing the UniversityCampaign process Wednesday, Rudenstine used theterm "lining the envelope" to describe hisstrategy of improvement rather than expansion.

Of the $2.1 billion total, the largest segmentis the $965 million target of the Faculty of Artsad Sciences (FAS).

Harvard's professional schools' goals total$861 million, with the Business School topping thelist at $220 million.

The final $235 million will go to the newlycreated President's University Fund, thecenterpiece of Rudenstine's centralizationefforts. The fund will be used to support newinitiatives and to bolster financially strappedsegments of the University as needed.

Rudenstine yesterday, listed five "themes" onwhich he sees the campaign focusing: improvingundergraduate teaching, increasing andstrengthening interfaculty programs, addinginternational programs, redesigning professionaleducation and ensuring the availability of studentaid.

The administration hopes to create about 85 newfaculty positions, including 40 in the Faculty,Rudenstine said. The FAS positions alone willrequire more than $100 million, he said.

The majority of the $2.1 billion will go tosupporting teaching, research, and public serviceprograms, which consume about 48 percent ofHarvard's $1.3 billion annual budget.

In addition, about 11 percent of the campaign'sfunds will go to projects such as improvinginformation technology and bringing all ofHarvard's libraries on-line.

An additional 13 percent of the money willsupport student scholarships on both the graduateand undergraduate levels.

The campaign brochure includes, for thatprospective donor who has everything, a shoppinglist of potential donations.

The big spender, for example, could name theHarvard Law Library for $25 million or establish anew and renovated home for the Governmentdepartment for $23 million.

More frugal donors can name a "room or specialarea" in an undergraduate house for $250,000 to$500,000, or establish a faculty research positionat the Business School for just $100,000.

Campaign organizers painted the fund-raisingdrive in optimistic and sometimes dramatic termsyesterday. Campaign Chair Robert G. Stone Jr. '45called the campaign "a new beginning to prepareHarvard for the next century."

Stone said a nucleus fund of $652,143,148,approximately one-third of the campaign goal, hadalready been accumulated at the time of the pressconference.

Despite a successful start, Rudenstine saidthat the University is left with the task ofmaintaining the pace of fundraising, which he says"will be very, very hard."

"It's going to mean $300 million a year forfive years, which I reckon is almost $1 million aday," Rudenstine said at the 10:30 a.m. pressconference. "It's already almost lunch, 12o'clock, and I haven't done anything yet today,"Rudenstine joked.

Although the campaign promises to bechallenging, Stone pointed out that it has alreadybeen more successful in drawing large gifts thanany other in the University's past. Stone saidfive donations already received have been inexcess of $20 million.

By contrast, the last capital campaign in theFaculty of Arts and Sciences succeeded in raisingonly one gift of $9 million over its entireduration, Rudenstine said Wednesday.

So far younger donors have played a key role inthe fundraising and Stone said he foresaw youngermoney as the key to this campaign's success.

"More than $50 million dollars came from alumnifrom the class of 1960 or later," Stone said.

Alumni will play a crucial role in organizingand raising fund for the capital campaign,Rudenstine said yesterday.

The three national chairs are Stone, Richard L.Menschel and William F. Thompson '50. Menschel,who is a 1959 Business School graduate, said hewill also be chairing the campaign for the Schoolof Public Health. Thompson is a 1954 BusinessSchool graduate.

And Sharon E. Gagnon, president of the HarvardAlumni Association, said a network of more than1,000 of Harvard's 230,000 alumni will helpcoordinate the solicitation.

Harvard's first capital campaign was held in1904-05 and raised $2.5 million for facultysalaries.

The University's most recent major fund-raisingeffort was the Harvard Campaign of 1985, whichraised $358 million for the endowment,overshooting its goal by more than $100 million.

Many other schools have recently begun orcompleted fund drives.

Stanford began the first billion-dollar funddrive in 1986 and exceeded its $1.1 billion goalby $600 million.

In the Ivy League, the University ofPennsylvania recently completed a $1.3 billioneffort and Cornell, Columbia and Yale arepresently closing in on the billion-dollar mark.

Harvard's $2.1 billion goal eclipses by far theprevious record for a campaign target, Yale's $1.5billion effort.Photo Courtesy University Campaign, Ed.MalitskyROBERT G. STONE, JR. '45 chairs the campaigncommittee.