"Far Above... The Campaign for Cornell" was launched October 26, 2006, at a news conference in New York City. An Ithaca campus celebration took place Friday, October 27.

(2) When do we expect to complete the campaign?

December 31, 2011

(3) What is the campaign goal?

The Board of Trustees approved a $4 billion campaign goal, making it the most ambitious campaign in the history of Cornell, and one of the largest in all of higher education.

(4) What is the campaign vision?

Cornell will celebrate its sesquicentennial in 2015. By that time, we aspire:

To be the best research university for undergraduate education
To set the standard for interdisciplinary collaboration in areas of critical social importance
To be a model for higher education in our approach to our public mission, and to be fully what we already are becoming: land grant institution to the world

(5) What must be done to make Cornell the best research university for undergraduate education?

Ensure ample funds for financial aid
Provide opportunities for undergraduates to pursue research and field-based learning
Ensure basic undergraduate courses are taught by distinguished senior faculty
Sustain initiatives to integrate the living-learning experience

(6) What must be done for Cornell to set the standard for research in key disciplines and for interdisciplinary collaboration?

Recruit and retain the best and most diverse new generation of faculty by providing endowed professorships in key disciplines and strengthening fellowship support for graduate students
Preserve and enhance our leadership in the arts and humanities
Build on longstanding strengths in the physical sciences and engineering disciplines, in the humanities, organismal and evolutionary biology, and the professional schools
Enhance faculty and program quality in the social sciences
Ensure ease of interdisciplinary research and teaching across colleges in Ithaca and between the faculties in Ithaca and at Weill Cornell Medical College
Provide physical infrastructure to support outstanding research and innovation

(7) What must be done for Cornell to be a model for all of higher education in its approach to our public mission?

Make public service and civic engagement integral to our students' educational experience
Promote innovation in our formal extension programs and in our efforts to promote economic development in New York State
Extend our efforts to build partnerships and exchanges with universities around the world
Develop a strategic plan that coordinates our faculty's efforts to help address problems in sub-Saharan Africa

(8) What are the campaign priorities?

The Campaign for Cornell will help the university meet its goals by raising funds to support students, with a focus on scholarship support and financial aid; to recruit the next generation of faculty; and to renew and build facilities for 21st century teaching, learning, and research.

Key areas of focus are:

Guaranteeing access to the most deserving students
Advancing interdisciplinary initiatives in fields where Cornell can lead the world, such as life sciences, physical sciences, and computing and information sciences
Preserving and enhancing our leadership in the arts and humanities
Advancing our professional schools and key social science disciplines to top rankings
Transforming the undergraduate living and learning experience through the Residential Initiative and related efforts

(9) What are the specific funding needs for students?

We seek to raise $640 million for students, with focus on the following:

Endowed scholarships for undergraduate and professional students
Endowed fellowships to attract top graduate students and postdoctoral scholars
Funds to increase undergraduate research and field-based learning
Funds to complete and sustain the Residential Initiative

(10) What are the specific funding needs for faculty?

We seek to raise $1,885 million for faculty and program support with focus on the following:

Endowed professorships, which help us recruit and retain superior faculty
Program support to advance key interdisciplinary initiatives
Program endowment and current-use funds to generate theme-based, cross-disciplinary interaction
Funding to foster increased collaborations among faculty on the Ithaca campus and researchers and clinicians at Weill Cornell Medical College

(11) What are the specific needs for facilities?

We seek to raise $1,175 million for facilities with focus on the following:

A new Life Sciences Technology Building
The completion of the West and North campus housing communities
A new Physical Sciences complex
A new biomedical research building on the Weill Cornell Medical College campus
New and modernized facilities on the Arts Quad
An Information Campus, initiated by seed funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Milstein Hall, a signature building to advance teaching and research in the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
An expansion of the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
A renovation and expansion of Helen Newman Hall to meet the recreational and workout needs of students
Plaza adjacent to Bailey Hall
Completion of the Lynah Rink expansion

(12) Why is increased Annual Fund giving important to the campaign’s success?

Like tuition and endowment income, the Annual Fund supports all the essential components of the university’s mission. By meeting the campaign goal of doubling Annual Fund giving, we will give the deans, directors, and provost an unprecedented resource to meet the needs of colleges and units on a day-to-day basis and to respond to new opportunities. For example, Annual Fund gifts may bring a noted speaker to campus, purchase library books, repair or upgrade laboratory equipment, or provide a stipend for a postdoctoral student. In addition, they have long-term value because they can provide start-up support for new endowed professorships; additional funds for financial aid; or seed funds to launch new initiatives.

(13) When will the campaign come to the regions?

Campaign celebrations in select cities will begin in winter 2008 and continue throughout the campaign. The tentative schedule is as follows: New York City in winter '08; Los Angeles and San Francisco in spring '09; and Washington, D.C. and Boston in spring '10. Regional campaign activities will be closely coordinated with existing university initiatives such as the Tower Club committees and the Cornell Alumni Federation Speaker Series. Campaign events will be designed to complement the Cornell presence that already exists.

(14) How does the campaign affect my role as a Cornell volunteer?

As a current Cornell volunteer, you may be asked to become involved in the campaign through your Tower Club committee, or one of the many other Cornell volunteer groups working in support of the campaign. Tower Club and other giving society initiatives will continue.

(15) How can donors support the campaign?

By making gifts in support of the campaign priorities—endowed scholarships and professorships; facilities; interdisciplinary initiatives; living-learning programs; and continuing their support of the Annual Fund.

(16) Can gifts made to the campaign be directed to a specific college, unit, or program?

Yes.

(17) How can I make a gift?

The easiest way to make a cash gift is through a secure online transaction at alumni.cornell.edu. You may also send a check payable to Cornell University to
P.O. Box 2600, Ithaca, NY, 14851.

Campaign commitments may be completed over a period of up to five years. Gifts of cash and securities, stock shares, mutual fund shares, and bonds can be applied to the campaign. Cornell gift planning staff can work with you to discuss how the university can be included in financial and estate plans to support the campaign, provide substantial tax benefits, and maximize charitable giving. Gifts to the campaign are tax deductible to the full extent of the Internal Revenue Code.

(18) Can my individual gift really make a difference when the campaign has such a large goal?

Absolutely. Campaigns succeed because of the collective support of many donors, and individual gifts, no matter the size, help us get closer to our goal. Cornell’s last capital campaign ended in 1995. We raised $1.5 billion, making it the most successful capital campaign ever at a university. Donors endowed 120 faculty positions and increased the number of endowed scholarships by 144 percent. Our endowment per student increased 99 percent. That campaign total represented more than 96,000 gifts from Cornell alumni and friends—proof that broad participation is essential to our success.

(19) What will be the impact of a successful Cornell campaign?

The success of this campaign will depend on our ability to significantly increase support for three crucial areas: student aid, faculty recruitment, and facilities enhancement. This success will keep Cornell strong in academic domains where it is already outstanding; strengthen disciplines where we can assume greater global leadership; make it possible for us to recruit the next generation of faculty; educate undergraduate and graduate students who are increasingly involved in research, international study, and field-based learning; and help us fulfill Cornell’s land-grant mission on a global scale.

(20) Who at Cornell can I contact for help and information?

You can direct general questions about the campaign to cucampaign@cornell.edu Numerous staff are happy to answer your questions as the campaign moves forward. Please feel free to contact:

Charlie Phlegar
Vice President for Alumni Affairs & Development
607-255-5142

Laura Toy
Associate Vice President for Alumni Affairs & Development
607-255-3950

Jim Mazza’88
Campaign Director
607-254-7497

Laurie Robinson ’77
Director of Development
607-254-6183

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Far Above... The Campaign for Cornell FAQs (pdf)

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