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Stanford Report, January 7, 2005

Undergraduate education fundraising campaign hits $1 billion goal early

Stanford's Campaign for Undergraduate Education (CUE) has surpassed its overall goal of $1 billion, according to the Office of Development. With some campaign objectives unmet, CUE will continue as scheduled through 2005. However, undergraduate programs have already felt the impact of the campaign's success.

As of Dec. 31, gifts and pledges to CUE totaled $1.003 billion.

"This remarkable achievement is a tribute to the generosity and dedication of our supporters and volunteers," said President John Hennessy. "Stanford University is a leader in undergraduate education, thanks in large part to the support and enthusiasm of the greater Stanford community. They clearly agree with us on the importance of our undergraduate initiatives."

Sustaining new programs

Hennessy launched CUE at his inauguration in October 2000, in part to raise long-term funding for reforms that originated with the 1994 report of the Commission on Undergraduate Education. Under President Gerhard Casper, the commission's recommendations led to new offerings such as Freshman and Sophomore Seminars and expanded opportunities, such as Undergraduate Research Programs.

These programs, which are now organized under the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (VPUE), have received a significant financial boost through CUE, largely in the form of endowment gifts. Endowed funding is vital, said John Bravman, the Freeman-Thornton Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education.

"Previous undergraduate reforms faded away precisely because they lacked dedicated, long-term funding," Bravman said, noting that CUE has already helped protect new programs from the impact of an economic recession.

While expendable gifts are typically used in the first few years after they are given and must then be replaced, endowment is invested to generate income in perpetuity. As a result of CUE, the portion of the VPUE budget that comes from endowment increased from 5 percent in 2001-02 to 26 percent in 2003-04, a trend that will continue as campaign pledges are fulfilled.

Broad impact

CUE has also raised more than $300 million for a variety of offerings throughout the university, including enhancements to many longtime favorites. These include the Overseas Studies Program, the Haas Center for Public Service, the Earth Systems Program, undergraduate programs in the School of Engineering, and Stanford athletics.

In the Overseas Studies Program, for example, the campaign will help sustain Stanford's new centers in Australia and China; the new three-week Overseas Seminars; and an annual conference that brings together students from different overseas centers.

Strengthening scholarships

Another key goal for CUE was to increase the number of endowed need-based and athletic scholarships. By the end of December, CUE donors had established 232 new endowed funds for need-based scholarships and 89 funds for athletic scholarships.

As with academic offerings, endowed funding strengthens Stanford's long-term commitment to financial aid. Stanford remains one of only a handful of private American institutions that both practice need-blind admission for undergraduates and guarantee financial aid to admitted students. Peer institutions such as Princeton provide as much as 95 percent of scholarships from endowed funds. Stanford historically has relied on expendable gifts and general operating funds for almost half of its annual scholarship budget.

A "living endowment"

The campaign is generating another form of long-term support as well—a dramatic increase in annual giving to The Stanford Fund for Undergraduate Education. In each year of CUE, donors have lifted the fund to record heights, contributing $18.2 million in 2003-04 and a total of $86 million so far during the campaign.

Seed money from The Stanford Fund originally helped jump start new undergraduate programs such as Freshman and Sophomore Seminars. Today, annual gifts continue to supplement endowed funds, providing immediate support for academics, scholarships and approximately 100 student organizations, ranging from radio station KZSU to public service groups housed at the Haas Center.

A new level of annual giving from alumni, parents and friends—sometimes referred to as a university's "living endowment"—will be one of CUE's most important legacies.

Ongoing effort

Hennessy noted that CUE has not yet reached its five-year goal of $100 million in annual giving to The Stanford Fund and that some other programs have remaining objectives for endowed funding. For those reasons, the campaign will run through Dec. 31, 2005, as originally planned.

"Over the last 10 years, we have introduced a range of innovative programs in undergraduate education at Stanford. But we recognize that excellence cannot be maintained by standing still," Hennessy said. "The continued enhancement of undergraduate education at Stanford requires us to be bold in launching new efforts. The CUE endowment will ensure that we have the permanent funding to continue to improve and enhance undergraduate education."