A Record Fundraising Year in Campaign to Raise $750 Million

In a significant step toward reaching a campaign goal of $750 million, San Diego State University has completed its best-ever year of fundraising.

The university raised $96.3 million in fiscal year 2014-2015 and increased its endowment to $191 million. Support in the form of estate gifts and planned gifts remained strong, accounting for about 25 percent of the total raised this year.

The Campaign for SDSU has now reached $602 million of its $750-million goal. In September of last year SDSU celebrated reaching its original goal of $500 million, and then extended the campaign.

“The record fundraising of the past year is a testament to our community’s strength and scope,” said SDSU President Elliot Hirshman. “It reflects the profound commitment of our generous alumni and community supporters, as well as the dedicated efforts of our faculty, staff and students in creating distinguished academic and co-curricular programs. This record-breaking year again demonstrates that when we work together as one community, anything is possible.”

Since the campaign launched in July 2007, more than 53,000 donors have contributed, including 111 who gave more than $1 million, and 1,500 newly minted donors from the Class of 2015. Recent graduates were asked to contribute at least $10 to SDSU’s general scholarship fund when they picked up their caps and gowns, and sixteen percent of them did so.

“All great universities develop a culture of philanthropy that binds alumni to their alma mater,” said Mary Ruth Carleton, vice president for University Relations and Development. “We are grateful to the thousands of alumni and friends who helped us reach this milestone.”

Breaking new ground

Several gifts received during this past year broke new ground for SDSU in San Diego and internationally.

The J. Keith Behner and Catherine M. Stiefel Program on Brazil is the university’s first endowed academic program with an international focus. Alumni J. Keith Behner, ’71, and Catherine M. Stiefel, ’92, created the Brazil program with a $2.5-million endowment to be funded over five years.

Through research collaborations with major Brazilian universities, SDSU will strengthen its global leadership in public health, environmental sciences, international business and urban development.

Also in 2015, SDSU accomplished a major campaign initiative with the endowment of the Susan and Stephen Weber Honors College. A capstone gift from San Diego philanthropist Darlene Shiley secured the endowment and named the college for SDSU’s seventh president and first lady, who also contributed generously to its development.

Academic rigor, interdisciplinary curriculum and a commitment to community service are hallmarks of the honors college, which enrolls 750 students.

“SDSU is a sought-after university for its excellent educational programs and prime location in America’s finest city,” said Jack McGrory, ’76, chair of The Campanile Foundation, whose board members have led SDSU fundraising efforts. The board has launched a campaign to create the Campanile Foundation Endowed Chair, a position for an internationlly recognized faculty researcher in the sciences.

Strength in endowments

Endowed gifts increased during fiscal 2015 year, a measure of SDSU’s advancement in the ranks of top public research universities. Endowments support scholarships; specialized faculty positions and department chairs; graduate fellowships; and academic programs promoting entrepreneurship, leadership, outstanding scholarship and other components of excellence in higher education.

Conrad Prebys’ $2.5-million endowment will support a new faculty position in biomedical research and is the largest endowed chair in SDSU’s history.

Jeffrey Glazer’s significant gift has created the first endowed center on campus dedicated to leadership education and community service.

The Bernard Osher Foundation endowed the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at SDSU to secure its future and support continued growth.

A combination of endowments and planned gifts added $11.3 million to the Coryell Legacy, an initiative created to help ensure the financial future of San Diego State Athletics and the success of its student-athletes.

SDSU’s goal to further support groundbreaking research through a dedicated research endowment also gained traction. More than $6.7 million of the $15 million goal had been raised as of June 30, 2015.

Significant new initiative

During the 2015 fiscal year, SDSU initiated plans for a new Engineering and Interdisciplinary Sciences Complex, where researchers and entrepreneurs will work collaboratively to develop real-world applications for research discoveries that address the complex interdisciplinary challenges of our time.

The EIS Complex is a key piece in the drive to become a top-50 public research university. Not only will it enhance SDSU’s teaching and research capacities, it will also help attract the best and brightest research faculty and students. And it will physically transform the north-east corner of campus, with its mission style architecture and the inclusion of the Thomas B. Day Quad, a large open space in the center of the complex named for SDSU’s sixth president in honor of his contributions to the university’s development as a national research institution.

With groundbreaking for the complex scheduled for December, four Aztecs have already made significant gifts to support the project. They are College of Engineering alumni William E. Leonhard, ’64, Diane Denkler, ’62, Kevin Mayer, ’88 and Alan Dulgeroff, ‘92. San Diego-based Cymer, Inc. has also pledged $1 million to support the EIS Complex.

“The EIS Complex will transform our campus, fostering interdisciplinary research, exposing our students to state-of-the-field technology and integrating entrepreneurship with research. It will be the gathering place and crossroads for the STEM disciplines on our campus - a place to collaborate, innovate and create,” Hirshman said.

To date, The Campaign for SDSU has raised more than $291 million for academic programs, $105 million for student scholarships, $17 million for facilities and $72 million for support of SDSU Athletics.