{"id":95082,"date":"2015-03-25T14:20:35","date_gmt":"2015-03-25T18:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=95082"},"modified":"2015-07-29T10:21:48","modified_gmt":"2015-07-29T14:21:48","slug":"the-meliora-challenge-campaign-surpasses-1-2-billion-initial-goal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/the-meliora-challenge-campaign-surpasses-1-2-billion-initial-goal\/","title":{"rendered":"The Meliora Challenge<\/em> campaign surpasses $1.2 billion initial goal"},"content":{"rendered":"

More than 15 months ahead of schedule, it\u2019s now a \u2018race to the finish\u2019 for the University of Rochester\u2019s historic fundraising campaign <\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Meliora Challenge<\/em>, the University of Rochester\u2019s comprehensive fundraising campaign, has surpassed its initial $1.2 billion goal. The campaign\u2019s primary objective was achieved thanks in part to an $11 million commitment from Robert and Pamela Goergen to the University\u2019s Institute for Data Science.<\/p>\n

President Joel Seligman made the campaign milestone announcement at a Board of Trustees leadership retreat on March 25. Launched in 2011, The<\/em> Meliora Challenge<\/em> is the largest campaign in the University\u2019s history. Fundraising efforts for The Meliora Challenge<\/em> will continue to build on the $1.2 billion mark until the campaign\u2019s conclusion in June 2016.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we publicly launched The Meliora Challenge<\/em> campaign, I said that together we would make history.\u00a0 Now, fewer than four years later, I am delighted that we have achieved our initial goal,\u201d said Seligman.\u00a0\u201cWe still have far to go.\u00a0 Great university campaigns typically exceed their initial goals by 10 to 20 percent.\u00a0 Over the next 15 months, we have the opportunity to build on our momentum and take our University to the next level.\u00a0 Let me reflect my great gratitude to our devoted alumni, friends, parents, faculty, staff and students.\u00a0 Together we are the Rochester family.\u00a0 Together we have demonstrated there is so much that we can achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas Farrell, senior vice president and chief advancement officer, praised the efforts of the University community, but also emphasized the importance of sustaining the campaign\u2019s momentum until its finish date.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe campaign has demonstrated remarkable performance to this point, but we have aspirations that go well beyond The Meliora Challenge<\/em>,\u201d said Farrell. \u201cIt is with these goals in mind that we need to stay focused and close out the campaign strong. It\u2019s a race to the finish!\u201d<\/p>\n

The University had its best fundraising performance in history during its 2014 fiscal year, when more than 51,000 donors contributed a total of nearly $156 million in new commitments.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur campaign\u2019s performance is a reflection of President Seligman\u2019s inspirational vision,\u201d said Board of Trustees Chairman Ed Hajim. \u201cAnd we have been fortunate to have dedicated leaders, like Campaign co-chairs Richard B. Handler and Cathy E. Minehan, who are working tirelessly to make this vision a reality.\u201d Hajim and his wife, Barbara, are among those leading Campaign giving, committing $30 million in 2008 to fund student scholarships and to support the endowment in the Hajim School of Engineering & Applied Sciences.<\/p>\n

In addition to the Hajims, lead campaign donors include Eastman Kodak Company, the Goergens, B. Thomas Golisano, Richard and Martha Handler, E. Philip Saunders, Thomas and Linda Sloan, the James P. Wilmot Foundation and Wilmot family, and the Wegman Family Charitable Foundation. In 2014, the Wegman Foundation provided a $10 million gift\u2014in addition to $7 million to the Golisano Children\u2019s Hospital\u2014to the Institute for Data Science, a top priority for the University and a flagship of The Meliora Challenge<\/em>. A new, 50,000-square-foot facility for data science will break ground this spring and will bear the Wegman name.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have reached this point in the campaign because of forward-thinking donors whose transformative gifts are not only changing the face of the University, but also inspiring others to offer their support in whatever way they can,\u201d said Handler, who with his wife, Martha, has contributed $25 million toward scholarships.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a community effort the whole way,\u201d said Minehan. \u201cWe really can\u2019t say thank you enough to those who have already made gifts and those who will continue to help us reach goals we have to support our students and facilities.\u201d Last year, Minehan and her husband, E. Gerald Corrigan, added $1 million to the Cathy E. Minehan and E. Gerald Corrigan Endowed Scholarship they created in 2004, which provides assistance for students with significant financial need in the School of Arts & Sciences. Since the beginning of the campaign, Minehan and Corrigan have contributed more than $4 million, which also includes a professorship.<\/p>\n

Thus far in the campaign, 320 endowed scholarships and fellowships have been established, assisting talented students in earning a University degree. The University\u2019s scholarships initiative will continue to be a fundraising priority moving forward.<\/p>\n

The campaign has also made possible several new facilities that have enhanced the University\u2019s learning, performance, teaching, research, and patient care spaces. Among the most recently completed projects are the Ronald Rettner Hall for Media Arts and Innovation and Raymond F. LeChase Hall\u2014home to the Warner School of Education\u2014both of which opened in 2013. Most notable among all campaign capital projects is the largest in University history: the 245,000-square-foot Golisano Children’s Hospital, scheduled to open this July.<\/p>\n

Funding for the new children\u2019s hospital represents a major portion of the University of Rochester Medical Center\u2019s $650 million campaign for The Meliora Challenge.<\/em> The Medical Center campaign, led by campaign vice chairs University Trustee Richard T. Aab and Rochester businessman E. Philip Saunders, and honorary chair University Trustee Danny Wegman, recently crossed the $600 million milestone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe new Golisano Children\u2019s Hospital facility will be a tremendous asset to our region, helping doctors and nurses better serve the emergency needs of children locally, as well as being a destination for families that seek a better treatment or cure for their child\u2019s condition,\u201d said Aab.<\/p>\n

On the way to $1.2 billion, the University has met\u2014and is currently exceeding\u2014its Campaign goals for faculty ($350 million) and the Annual Fund ($130 million). Campaign support to date has established 93 new endowed professorships throughout the University, which has exceeded the original goal of 80. Members of the George Eastman Circle, the University\u2019s leadership annual giving society, have played a major role in fundraising efforts for the Annual Fund, nearly tripling the amount of available unrestricted funds since the start of the Campaign. And OneRochester, the faculty and staff fundraising campaign, is reporting a 42 percent participation rate.<\/p>\n

For more information on The Meliora Challenge<\/em>, visit: http:\/\/campaign.rochester.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the way to $1.2 billion, the University has met\u2014and is currently exceeding\u2014its campaign goals for faculty ($350 million) and the Annual Fund ($130 million). Campaign support to date has established 93 new endowed professorships throughout the University, which has exceeded the original goal of 80. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":95242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[18612,57,9206],"class_list":["post-95082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-university-news","tag-announcements","tag-board-of-trustees","tag-joel-seligman"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Meliora Challenge campaign surpasses $1.2 billion initial goal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/the-meliora-challenge-campaign-surpasses-1-2-billion-initial-goal\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Meliora Challenge campaign surpasses $1.2 billion initial goal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On the way to $1.2 billion, the University has met\u2014and is currently exceeding\u2014its campaign goals for faculty ($350 million) and the Annual Fund ($130 million). 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