By Jacob Abrahamson–
On the steps of Grawemeyer Hall, U of L President James Ramsey announced that the University has surpassed the $1 billion goal of the “Charting Our Course” fundraising campaign.
“This is a big day for the University of Louisville, an important day in the life of the University of Louisville,” said Ramsey. The campaign initially aimed to meet the $1 billion goal by 2015, and surpassed the goal by nearly $5 million.
“Our capital campaign has been one of our strategies to move forward in a tough fiscal environment,” continued Ramsey.
The donations will be used to create 17 new endowed chairs and 190 scholarships.
A goal of $600 thousand was set forth in the early stages of the campaign, but the amount went up as the process continued.
According to Bob Hughes, chairman of the board of trustees, the bar “just kept raising and raising and raising.”
“The trustees said that they would rather strike out in the major leagues than hit a homer in the minors,” said Ramsey. “But today we didn’t strike out. We hit a grand slam home run.”
“They have just scoured the country searching for funds,” said Hughes. “We hit a billion and we’re not done yet.” The campaign ends with the fiscal year on June 30 after its beginning in 2007.
The large event was made up of students, faculty, staff and community members. U of L’s marching band also made an appearance.
Other speakers included student Lashawna Ford and faculty members Dave Simpson and Andrea Bearman, who discussed the benefits of the scholarship programs and research funding supported by this campaign, respectively.
“I think it is a great campaign,” said Monali Haldankar, SGA President-Elect. “It is going to help basically every aspect of student life and faculty life.”
“Today is the beginning of a better future for this university family,” said Hughes.
Photo by Jacob Abrahamson / The Louisville Cardinal
