The University of Louisville Alumni Magazine: for alumni, faculty, staff, students and anyone that is a UofL Cardinal fan.
Issue link: https://louisville.epubxp.com/i/43017
Legacy 'Charting Our Course' sets fourth straight fundraising record With more donors stepping forward to make gifts and pledges, along with an overall increase in alumni giving, UofL set a new record amount for a single year, raising nearly $141 million in private funds in fi scal year 2011. It is the fourth straight year that UofL has bested its previous year's fundraising total, with about 29,000 donors who gave or pledged a total of $140.7 million. The university will use the funds to create student scholarships, recruit and retain faculty, boost teaching and research, support academic units and libraries and improve the university's infrastructure, according to President James Ramsey. "Becoming a premier metropolitan research university takes money," he said. "Our remarkable fundraising efforts over the past few years are helping counter the effects of a sluggish economy and declining state funding. I'm extremely proud of this accomplishment." Strong donation of $150,000 boosts Cardinal Covenant scholarships Head football coach Charlie Strong and his family believe everyone should have a shot at obtaining a higher education degree. That's why they recently donated $150,000 to UofL's Cardinal Covenant scholarship program, which helps low-income students in Kentucky earn college degrees. The gift will create a Charlie, Vicki, Hailee and Hope Strong Scholarship to be offered within the program. The gift is being made through UofL's fundraising campaign, "Charting Our Course — The Campaign for Kentucky's Premier Metropolitan Research University." "We feel fortunate that we are in a position to help young men and women achieve their hopes and dreams of a better future through higher education," Strong said. "We will be proud to know that we were a part of helping them secure their educational goals." Cardinal Covenant pays tuition, room and board costs not covered by other grants and scholarships for Kentucky students whose family income is at or below 150 percent of the poverty level. To qualify, students must have a high school grade point average of at least 2.5, an ACT score of 20 or higher and must graduate within fi ve years. Since 2007, some 450 students have enrolled in the program, and 25 have earned a UofL degree. "One of the reasons we hired Coach Strong is because of his commitment to education and helping young people become better citizens," said President James Ramsey. "This donation from him and his family to Cardinal Covenant is proof of that commitment." 10|LOUISVILLE.EDU Not only was private giving $19 million higher in fi scal 2011 than it was in fi scal 2010, but also about 1,700 more donors made gifts and pledges, said Keith Inman, vice presi- dent for university advancement. Nearly 14 percent of the university's alumni donated money to their alma mater — an increase from previous years and a percentage substantially higher than the 9 percent national average for public research universities. "This shows UofL is an institution on the move," Inman said. "People want to be part of an exciting, vibrant universi- ty, and that's why they're giving to UofL in record numbers." So far, UofL has raised $518 million through its "Chart- ing Our Course" campaign, which began in 2007 with a goal of $750 million. On July 14, Ramsey and UofL's Board of Trustees approved a plan to increase the campaign goal to $1 billion and to extend the campaign through 2014. Chairmen of the "Charting Our Course" campaign are Owsley Brown Frazier, UofL Board of Trustees chairman; Henry Heuser, UofL Board of Overseers chairman; and Chester Porter, UofL Foundation chairman.