IUPUI Touts Historic Campaign
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIUPUI says its seven-year IMPACT campaign is the most successful fundraising effort in the school's history. The university says the campaign raised nearly $1.4 billion, exceeding its goal by more than 10 percent. Chancellor Charles Bantz says the effort was driven by multiple “transformative gifts,” including $50 million from Melvin and Bren Simon to establish a cancer patient care facility and research fund.
September 30, 2013
News Release
Indianapolis, Ind. — Indiana University officials celebrated the conclusion of the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis IMPACT campaign — the largest and most successful comprehensive fundraising campaign in the university’s nearly 200-year history — which raised $1.39 billion, exceeding its initial goal of $1.25 billion.
IUPUI's seven-year IMPACT campaign began in July 2006, before the Great Recession, and was publically announced in October 2010, while the nation was still slowly recovering from the economic downturn. Despite often tumultuous and uncertain times throughout the campaign, donations continued at a steady pace. According to Giving USA, the annual measure of American philanthropy, giving to education declined nationally by an average of .76 percent during the first four years of the campaign.
“Over the past seven years, the IUPUI IMPACT campaign has galvanized thousands of IU supporters who have responded with extraordinary generosity,” IU President Michael A. McRobbie said. “Nearly 100,000 university alumni and friends contributed to this campaign, and their commitment to IUPUI, which has touched and will continue to touch so many lives, is deeply appreciated by all of us across the Indiana University community.”
IUPUI has and will continue to make an impact on the lives of its students, faculty and staff, as well as the residents of Indiana and beyond. Examples of how the successful IMPACT campaign has influenced the four major priority areas include:
Supporting extraordinary student success — IUPUI is a catalyst for “brain gain” within the state. Financial support is a key component in attracting and retaining a diverse, engaged and committed student body.
• RISE scholarships, one of the most popular giving opportunities in the IMPACT campaign, enable undergraduate students to participate in research, international, service learning or experiential learning activities. Enhancing the appeal of this initiative was a fixed match offered by the campus, which increased the total annual support for each new scholarship created. Sixty-four RISE scholarships were created: 16 in the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy; 13 in both the Herron School of Art and Design and the Kelley School of Business; five each in the School of Science, the School of Nursing and the Center for Research and Learning; three in the School of Engineering and Technology; two in the Fairbanks School of Public Health; and one each in the School of Liberal Arts and the School of Education.
Excelling as a center for the health and life sciences — IUPUI trains the majority of the state’s health care specialists, and its research has led to breakthroughs in cancer, diabetes and cardiac treatments, as well as advancements in physical therapy, dental care and urban health issues.
• The Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health was established, evolving from the Department of Public Health in the IU School of Medicine and named in recognition of a transformative $20 million gift from the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation in support of IU’s efforts to address the critical public health problems that affect the quality of life of many Hoosiers. The school will draw upon the resources of the IUPUI health sciences campus and focus on the areas of urban health, health policy, biostatistics and epidemiology.
Championing civic engagement — Concern for community — in Central Indiana or halfway across the world — is so ingrained into IUPUI campus life that it defines what and how students learn.
• The IU School of Social Work at IUPUI and the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention developed a graduate fellowship named for Joe Fahy, CHIP’s former planning director, a former newspaper reporter and a champion of society’s voiceless and vulnerable. The Joseph W. Fahy Graduate Fellowship carries a $5,000 stipend paid for by a gift from D. William Moreau Jr. and his wife, Ann. The student awarded the fellowship works closely with CHIP’s paid staff and volunteers to implement the Blueprint to End Homelessness in Indianapolis.
Thriving as an urban research campus — As one of the nation’s premier urban research institutions, IUPUI fulfills a mission of advancing the intellectual growth of citizens throughout the state and beyond by translating research into practice.
• In collaboration with Rolls-Royce Corp., IUPUI developed a novel pressure-boosting wave rotor to better understand the complex interaction of the physical and chemical processes that occur during the reignition phase of combustion. The research promises better fuel efficiency and reduced emissions from aircraft engines and power plants, and could also lead to the development of more vehicles operating on domestic natural gas instead of imported petroleum fuels.
“The IMPACT campaign succeeded because our donors were motivated by big dreams, powerful beliefs, and they expected action and great accomplishments. We thank them for challenging us. IUPUI will never be the same,” IUPUI Chancellor and IU Executive Vice President Charles R. Bantz said.
“The gifts of private support, time and leadership have enabled IUPUI to provide the knowledge and skills that have and will enhance the quality of life for people across the state and around the world,” IU Foundation President Dan Smith said. “Funds raised through the IMPACT campaign will continue to have a transformation impact on the university’s ability to thrive and illustrate the incredible vision and loyalty of IUPUI faculty, staff and supporters.”
Campaign snapshot and additional highlights:
• $1,394,816,419 raised — Represents 111.6 percent of $1.25 billion goal.
• 99,577 donors — 5,258 donors were IUPUI faculty, staff or retirees, who contributed $18,157,849.
• Endowed chairs — Endowed chairs are critical to IUPUI’s mission to recruit and retain world-class faculty and make the campus more appealing to talented students in undergraduate, graduate and professional school programs. Endowed chairs offer invaluable financial support for use in research, teaching or service activities. Twenty chairs were generated through the campaign, each with a minimum contribution of $2 million.
• Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center — The IU Cancer Center was named in honor of Bren Simon and her late husband, Melvin, for their extraordinary $50 million gift composed of two parts: Half of the gift supported the construction of the expanded IU Simon Cancer Center patient care facility and the other half established the Joshua Max Simon Cancer Research fund, a faculty recruitment and research endowment memorializing the Simon’s son.
• Eugene and Marilyn Glick Eye Institute — Construction of the Glick Eye Institute was made possible with a $30 million gift from the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Family Foundation. The gift included $10 million to the School of Medicine to start an endowment that will advance research in eye disease such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts and other eye diseases of aging, as well as eye diseases in children.
• IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy — The nation’s first school of philanthropy was named after the Lilly family for its support and the seminal role both the Lilly Family and Lilly Endowment Inc. have played in the creation and growth of the School of Philanthropy and the field of philanthropic studies. In all, the school has received more than $80