To set a goal of just over $2 billion for a university fundraising campaign would seem to be unrealistic at most institutions. However, at Harvard University, the campaign would just be getting started: The university has just completed a record-setting $2.6 billion campaign.

The University Campaign started in May 1994 with a stated goal of $2.1 million. By October of last year, the campaign had been successful enough for Harvard President Neil L. Rudenstine to announce it would surpass its original goal. The campaign received support from more than 174,000 donors.

"The fundamental measure of a campaign's success, of course, lies not primarily in the number of dollars raised, but in the vastly strengthened educational programs and opportunities that will together shape the future of our university: programs and opportunities that will enable us to attract the best possible faculty, students, and staff to Harvard, and to provide them with the essential resources they need to do their very best work," Rudenstine wrote in a letter to contributors.

A comprehensive report on the campaign will be available in May.

Full text of the article is currently found at:
http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2000/
01.27/camp.html