Harvard Donors Establish Milestone In Advancing Teaching And Research

October 07, 1999

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HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

As they continue enabling Harvard to advance teaching and research excellence, Harvard donors will establish a new record for higher education philanthropy when The University Campaign ends Dec. 31.

National Campaign co-chairman Robert G. Stone announced Wednesday that the Campaign has raised $2.325 billion since it began in 1994, surpassing its original goal of $2.1 billion.

In addition to sustaining need-blind admissions – the need-based aid policy that enables admitted students to attend Harvard College regardless of their financial means – the campaign also is funding investments aimed at strengthening undergraduate education, all of the graduate and professional schools, many of the affiliates, the sciences, humanities, international studies, interdisciplinary initiatives, and the educational use of information technology.

"Higher education is in the midst of an unprecedented and profound transformation," President Neil L. Rudenstine told a gathering of 150 alumni, alumnae, and benefactors at the Harvard Club of New York. "The exceptional pace of discovery in research, of growth in information and knowledge, and of change in nearly all aspects of human affairs, have created a stimulating yet demanding set of new challenges which all institutions of higher learning must address."

Harvard officials stressed that gifts received to date from more than 172,000 donors will make it possible for Harvard to make the massive programmatic investments required while holding down the share of tuition costs borne by students and their families.

Gifts from donors provide approximately 28 percent of Harvard’s annual operating budget of approximately $1.8 billion, up from 18 percent a decade ago. Tuition covers approximately two-thirds of the University’s cost per student, while 70 percent of Harvard undergraduates receive financial aid. For undergraduates receiving direct scholarships from the College, the average grant this year is $17,200 compared to $11,700 when the campaign began.

"If universities are to remain at the forefront of discovering new insights and ideas, and of creating significant new knowledge – while playing an important role in addressing society’s problems – then they must themselves be in a state of constant renewal and discovery," Rudenstine said. "The campaign for Harvard has enabled this university to continue that essential process in a dynamic and wonderfully productive way."

The Campaign earmarks funds in six major areas:

• Strengthening Undergraduate Education: With more than $1 billion targeted for programs at Harvard College and within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, 25 new faculty positions have been created to improve faculty-student ratios, reduce class size, and strengthen the "Core" curriculum. New and renovated spaces exist in the computer, arts, humanities, sciences, athletic, library, and residential areas. The campaign has helped strengthen women’s athletic programs by adding unrestricted endowment income specifically directed to women athletes and through improved facilities, such as the recently completed artificial turf training field.

• Access to Degree Programs through Financial Assistance: More than $200 million in new endowment for financial aid has increased the undergraduate scholarships budget by 20 percent. An additional $30 million has been raised for support of students in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, enabling an increase of 25 percent in the packages offered to Ph.D. candidates. Two-thirds of Business School students receive loans or grants, as do approximately 70 percent of Education School students, 75 percent of law students, and 85 percent of Divinity School students. Loan forgiveness programs also have been established for students who pursue careers in the public or nonprofit sectors.

• Strengthening International Studies: The campaign is supporting international studies programs that promise to provide students and professionals with the insights they need to live and work effectively in an increasingly interconnected global community. New faculty positions have been endowed in international "area studies," while centers of regional studies across the University have been improved or established to study contemporary issues in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and continental Europe. These include programs on human rights, the environment, emerging democratic institutions, Islamic law, the AIDS epidemic, and security issues.

• Advancing Scientific Inquiry: In addition to providing $20 million in endowment because of U.S. government cutbacks in support to Harvard's 17 major affiliated teaching hospitals, program centers also are being funded in cancer biology, genetics, neurobiology, and cell biology. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences will commit $150-$200 million over the next five years to genomics, biology, chemistry, biophysics, applied science, materials science, computer science, environmental science, and psychology.

• Crossing Disciplinary Boundaries: Interfaculty and cross-Faculty programs are becoming more prevalent as many of the most significant new intellectual and societal problems require collaboration from different disciplines, perspectives, and methodologies. These range from studies of the human mind (the Mind/Brain/Behavior program) to the examination of "Ethics and the Professions," from health policy to the management of nonprofit organizations, and from human rights to a new multi-disciplinary approach to studying children. One program on the environment (the China Project) combines Harvard scholars from five faculties partnered with three major Chinese universities to study links among economic development, environmental degradation, and public health.

• Deploying Information Technology: Substantial investments have been made in creating the basic infrastructure (wiring classrooms, libraries, dormitories, etc.), as well as the new educational program systems made possible by the advent of these new technologies. The card catalog for Harvard’s 13 million volumes in its 92 libraries is now online. Over 1,000 courses currently have an Internet-based component, with many Schools providing tools to faculty to create their own websites.

Development Office officials stressed that the campaign continues in earnest until the end of this year. While the overall dollar goal has been achieved, several critically important academic initiatives remain to be funded. These include faculty positions across the University, library modernization, support for the sciences, and the University Fund.