After 7-year campaign, UCSD raises $1 billion; Largest portion to go to research

LA JOLLA -- With the help of 100,000 individuals, businesses and organizations, University of California San Diego officials yesterday announced they have met and surpassed the $1 billion goal for their capital campaign.

The seven-year effort will help fund faculty research, improve patient care, develop new buildings and create student scholarships and fellowships.

"I'm awed, I'm amazed, I'm touched that the community could come together in such a demonstrable way," UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said at a celebratory event yesterday attended by about 60 donors and university employees.

In meeting its goal, UCSD joins the ranks of 33 other universities that have raised at least $1 billion in capital campaigns across the country, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education. Billion-dollar capital campaigns by public and private universities have become increasingly common, as state funding has dropped off, philanthropy experts said.

Community leaders highlighted the impact UCSD and the campaign will have on educating students, improving patient care at UCSD's health care system and spawning new companies.

"Having a very strong research university is indeed critical to economic growth and fostering new innovative companies, and I think UCSD has done that exceedingly well," said Irwin Jacobs, a former UCSD faculty member and the founder of Qualcomm Inc. "The exciting future is really in front of us."

The largest portion of the money raised, $400 million, will support faculty research. Much of that money, as designated by donors, will support research in the health sciences, engineering, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and the physical and biological sciences. The funding will augment the $525 million UCSD already receives from federal research grants annually.

About 33 percent, or $330 million, of the campaign monies will help build facilities and pay for startup costs for new academic programs.

Ten percent, or $100 million, will support initiatives that cross disciplines. Another $100 million will provide scholarships and fellowships for students and $70 million will be devoted to recruit and retain faculty members.

UCSD has raised $1.015 billion so far, and fundraising will continue until the scheduled end of the campaign, June 30.

But that won't mark the end of fundraising. Fox said she projects the next campaign could start as soon as two to three years from now, and will focus on increasing donations from foundations and corporations, which provided 5 percent of the funding. The lion's share of the contributions, $510 million, came from individuals who did not attend UCSD.

Fundraising by colleges and universities has risen dramatically in recent years. Institutions raised $28 billion last year, up from $14 billion a decade ago, according to the Council for Aid to Education, which analyzes private giving to higher education. It's been prompted largely by universities seeking more funds in the face of reduced state funding.

"There's a quest for excellence," said Rae Goldsmith, a spokeswoman for the nonprofit Council for Advancement and Support of Education. "Many have faced a reduction in state funding, and they're trying to ramp up the quality of their facilities, technology and research. That takes resources."