Jere Morehead, UGA's President, did not declare any specific amount set as the target of the campaign, which has already began almost four years ago. It was commonly known to UGA marketers as "Commit to Georgia". Said announcement would not happen for another week since Morehead has to meet several huge donor at a private event held in Atlanta.
However, after Morehead has revealed the figures earlier during the campaign's "quiet phase", the receivables are already anticipated to reach above the $1 billion line.
Kelly Kerner, UGA's Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, said the campaign, in its first four years of the expected eight-year fund raising period, has already raised a total of $650 million.
"This is just the beginning," Kerner added.
In each of Morehead's first three years in the position, the university has set new records of fund-raising, as well. This includes the record of $183.8 million during the 2015-16 fiscal year which ended on June 30.
Also, during Morehead's administration, UGA has also set new records in terms of pledges and gifts with $126.4 million worth in 2014, $144.2 million from the previous year and then a record $183.8 million in the fiscal of 2016 year, which has also ended last June 30.
The University of Georgia, founded in 1785, and commonly referred to as UGA or simply Georgia, is an American public Land-grant, Regional Sun Grant, National Sea Grant, and National Space Grant research university. It is a flagship university that is ranked tied for 18th overall among all public national universities in the 2017 U.S. News & World Report rankings.
According to a fact sheet prepared by the university for the Tate Student Center's event on Thursday, with the announcement of the fund-raising campaign's "public" phase, the mission now has three priorities, beginning with "opening doors and removing financial barriers" which means "scholarships and need-based aid to ensure all academically qualified students have access to a UGA education.
On the other hand, the second priority, "enhancing the learning environment," comprises campus buildings as well as increasing the university's initiative with regard to "experiential learning", and "solving grand challenges" the world faces nowadays.
From the beginning, one the major purposes of the said fund-raising campaign is to increase the number of endowed professorships at UGA, making it its third priority. In the first half of the campaign alone, the donors have already given $107 million for scholarships.
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