Contributions to the University through both cash and in-kind services reached nearly $15 million during the 2004-05 fiscal year.
This figure is compared to $11 million received the previous year, and set a new annual record for private donations given to the University.
‘We are very pleased with the progress we’ve made and the great response from alumni and friends,’ said Marcia Latta, associate vice president for university advancement, and a driving force of the Building Dreams Campaign.
The Campaign is a six-and-a-half year effort that began in July 2002, and is planned to end December 2008.
The goal is to raise $120 million for use towards need-based and merit-based scholarships, along with funding several areas on campus. Thus far the program has raised $81 million and awarded 280 scholarships.
‘The students directly benefit from money donated to BGSU through the Building Dreams Campaign,’ Latta said. ‘With state budget cuts and the current state funding situation, the campaign becomes even more critical.’
Three future buildings on campus are a huge focus of the Campaign.
Gifts at the one million dollar level and above have been pledged for the Dallas-Hamilton Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, the Sebo Athletic Center and the Wolfe Center for the Arts.
The Entrepreneurial Center will act as a hub of interaction among faculty, students, employees, and community leaders providing education, training, research, and other outreach opportunities.
Its offerings will include a minor for University students, and its programs will emphasize opportunity recognition, business plan development, risk evaluation, acquiring financial backing, and managing a business venture.
Geared toward the University’s student-athletes, the Sebo Athletic Center will be located at the north end of Doyt Perry Stadium, and will house coaching-staff offices and meeting spaces for the football program, expanded weight rooms, training rooms, and team meeting rooms which will be available for use by all athletes.
The Wolfe Center for the Arts will be a collaborative center for all arts across campus from live theatrical performance to computer animation and puppetry, from opera and musical theater to film.
The Wolfe Center will embody a sense of energy and creativity for all arts. and emphasize the importance of ’embracing the arts’ in student development, according to the Building Dreams Web site.
Further funding is also pledged to updating and expanding WBGU-TV, the BGeXperience: Visions and Values, the President’s Leadership Academy and endowed scholarships.
‘It’s clear that our supporters understand the need for private dollars to sustain and enhance the University’s offerings,’ said J. Douglas Smith, vice president for University advancement. ‘They share our desire to see Bowling Green succeed in providing a quality education for students, regardless of their financial resources.’
State-funded universities across Ohio have also seen increases in private support during the 2004-05 fiscal year.
The University of Toledo jumped 48 percent, from $6.9 million the previous year to $10.2 million this year.
Miami of Ohio pledges this year were the second highest in school history, with donations totaling $24.4 million.
But according to Latta, it is difficult to directly compare money raised by separate universities, even if they are of comparable size.
‘There are so many variables that venture into a university’s donations,’ she said. ‘You need to consider such aspects as the number of alumni, the number of first generation students, geographic location, the number of branch campuses and the number of campaigns and fundraising programs that have been done in the past.’