BC launches $1.5 billion capital campaign
October 29Despite the looming threat of a national recession, Boston College (BC) recently announced its most ambitious capital campaign in history, aiming to raise $1.5 billion by 2015. The "Light the World" campaign will help fund BC's strategic academic plan, which draws on feedback from BC community members, according to BC spokesperson Jack Dunn. "Three years ago, the university completed a strategic plan that involved the input of 200 BC students, employees, staff and alumni, all of whom helped set goals to address the school's most important needs," Dunn told the Daily. "This new capital campaign is the public announcement to support these strategic goals." According to Dunn, the plan will first target increasing financial aid and continuing to improve academic excellence, both of which will receive the most money. "Five hundred and seventy-five million dollars will be allocated towards academic excellence that will allow BC to hire 100 new faculty and fund more than a dozen new centers of learning," Dunn said. "In addition, $300 million will be allocated to financial aid, which the strategic plan indicated was another major priority to the BC community." Dunn added that over $225 million will be used to pay for new facilities, construction and renovation projects on campus. These projects include building four new academic buildings, a student center, a recreation complex and dormitories that will enable BC to house all of its undergraduate students in university housing. In addition, $175 million will go toward ongoing annual programs, $100 million to athletics and $125 million to student leadership programs, which according to Dunn are an important part of BC's identity. "A portion of the money from this campaign will help BC with many of our ongoing programs that help provide safe exploration opportunities for student leaders," Dunn said. "One of the many things that this will include is retreats that provide an intersection between intellectual and religious dimensions of the university." Along with raising financial capital, "Light the World" also seeks to almost double the number of alumni who give to BC from 23,000 to 40,000 alumni, Dunn said. Currently, Boston College has over 150,000 alumni. While the recent financial crisis may reduce alumni giving rates, Dunn remains confident that BC's capital campaign will meet its goal on time. "Obviously, the financial situation now is a daunting challenge for all institutions, but we think that there will be an economic recovery following this downturn," Dunn said. "We have confidence that our alumni over the course of seven years will allow us to meet our goal." Like Dunn, Tufts' Director of Donor Relations Christine Sanni is confident that Tufts will reach its goal in "Beyond Boundaries," its capital campaign that is shooting to bring in $1.2 billion by 2011. "So far, we haven't seen a change in giving this year; we're still on track for the $1.2 billion by the end of the campaign," Sanni said. "We have many donors who have not been impacted [by the financial crisis] and feel more obligated to give back to the university because they feel incredibly fortunate." Tufts' "Beyond Boundaries" campaign has raised $919 million to date. According to Sanni, the funds are designated to fall into three main areas, including additions to the university endowment, expendable gifts for immediate use and capital funds for construction of new buildings and enhancement of facilities. While Sanni noted that Tufts and BC have "slightly different" goals, she added that the two schools' campaigns both encourage a shared commitment to advancing public service. "One similarity between BC and Tufts is that there is definitely a commitment to the community on the part of students and administrators," Sanni said. "Just as Tufts is recognized for emphasizing the importance of active citizenship, BC also promotes a commitment to public service." Over the past two years, BC's "Light the World" campaign has raised over $520 million during its "quiet phase." Boston College's last financial campaign, which ended in 2003, raised over $440 million.