U. set to reach goal in summer

Although the University's $1 billion dollar capital campaign is set to end in two years, the administration plans to maintain the pace of the fundraising campaign throughout the decade, Senior Vice President for Planning and Development Rick Nahm said last week. The campaign will officially end in December 1992, but Nahm said that the University will surpass the overall $1 billion goal sometime next summer. "If we assume there will be no single gift larger than $2 million, we would be on a trajectory to reach $1 billion between July and September," Nahm said. "It's always difficult to tell exactly," Nahm said. "A big gift can throw you over [the $1 billion mark] very quickly." Nahm said that as of Wednesday, $877 million had been pledged to the University as part of the capital campaign. The campaign, begun two years ago, has been a four-year project to both increase the University's endowment and to raise money for specific projects. Nahm said that although the University will reach its goal well before the deadline, the University will continue the campaign until the December 1994 deadline. "Once you have a campaign running full speed, it's wise to continue it full steam until you have solicited all the people who are prospects," Nahm said. Acting Executive Vice President John Gould said last week that "we were at a meeting the other night and one of the deans of the major schools said it would be crazy to dismantle one of the best fundraising systems in the country." Gould said the resources the University invests in the capital campaign are well worth the result. "It's one of the few areas in the University where an increase in staff has an extraordinary increase in revenues," Gould said. And Nahm said that, while the $1 billion goal will be reached this summer, "it doesn't mean we have met all of the subgoals." The "subgoals" include fundraising for specific schools and projects. And Nahm said the University will not slow down even after the official end of the campaign. "It is our expectation that we will keep the development program or fundraising program at its current level of activity for the rest of the decade," Nahm said. "What we will do is concentrate on fundraising that supports the new five year plans that the schools are currently planning." The "five year plans" are development plans drawn up by each school at the University. "This next cycle of five year plans will form the foundation for the development after the campaign, like the previous five year plans guided the current campaign," Nahm said. "In terms of overall level of fundraising, we hope to maintain this level of fundraising," Nahm said. President Sheldon Hackney, the second-longest serving president in the Ivy League, said this summer that he plans to remain in office at least through the end of the University's $1 billion capital campaign. Some have speculated that, because of the Hackney family's relationship with the Clinton family and Hackney's rare endorsement of Clinton a week before the election, Hackney may be offered a job in the new administration. An early fulfillment of the capital campaign goal would allow Hackney to keep his promise and to leave the University early.

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