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Frequently Asked Questions
How will the money be used?
Private dollars raised are used to fund programs of excellence and take advantage of new strategic opportunities presented to the campuses or units. These programs typically are focused on enhancing quality -- gifts that allow us to offer additional scholarships; recruit and retain the highest caliber of faculty; enhance or assist with buildings and/or the technology, equipment, furnishings or other features that maximize their usefulness.
Who established the campaign priorities?
The planning process in 2003-2004 involved campuses and units taking stock of their greatest needs and greatest opportunities and measuring those against what is provided through state funds and what the campaign reasonably can be expected to do for each. The president and the Board of Trustees establish and ratify the overall strategic priorities of the institution, but that process is a collaborative one that involves the input of campus, institute and unit leaders.
How were the campuses' and colleges' fundraising goals set?
Each campus established its own goals with direction from the vice president of development and president. These goals were set based on:
- recognizing previous fundraising results with an expectation of increased success in a campaign;
- leadership gifts over the first three years of the campaign;
- success over the first three years of the campaign; and
- needs identified in each campus or college strategic plan.
What does this "spirit, vision, plan" statement actually mean?
A spirit is about the university’s proud past -- traditions that we cherish and history of which we are all quite proud.
A vision refers to the philanthropic vision and commitment of our donors who give their financial resources, time and energy to make the university better.
A plan refers to how we will use those dollars to implement our strategic initiatives in a way that best takes advantage of our opportunities and benefits the state and its people for years to come.
What does it take to have a successful campaign?
Capital campaigns aren’t just about the money; they’re also about what the money will enable you to do. There are two necessary components: the combination of a solid plan for excellence, and the financial backing to achieve that plan. It’s not just raising money, and it’s not just having a plan. You have to have a strategic plan and the vision to achieve it, but you also have to have the resources to make your plan and the vision for it become a reality.
Having a lot of money and a bad plan doesn’t help you. Having a good plan and funds to enable it can be transformational.
So, you are ahead of the campaign goal, yet gifts are more important than ever?
We are pleased with our progress and the fact that, while not quite to the midpoint in terms of overall length of time in the campaign, we are at 70 percent of our overall monetary goal. We are in the 40th month of an 84-month campaign. We’re fortunate that so many of our cornerstone leadership gifts have been committed, because that enhances the momentum and encourages others to consider what they can provide. That being said, the remainder of the effort will involve a larger number of gifts of varying sizes, so reiterating that every gift makes a difference is important to our success.
How does the campaign impact the university’s need for state funds?
We are grateful for the state’s support and the many innovative ways it has found to collaborate on projects that have happened through public-private partnerships. Typically, state funds cover about a third of the university’s statewide operating costs each year.
For public institutions, it’s difficult to keep tuition levels reasonable and do much more than deliver solid but basic programs. UT has done well in this area and will continue to deliver the best education and service possible.
We want to be among the leaders of public higher education, and our friends and supporters share that vision. We can’t rely solely on state dollars or tuition -- it takes extra resources to develop programs, faculty and student opportunities to reach that next level of quality.
We use, and will continue to demonstrate that we use, all funds wisely and that those dollars are invested in a manner that will help us achieve excellence.
If UT’s endowment has topped $ 1 billion and we’ve set our sights on a large goal, how will the campaign impact our need for tuition?
Funds raised are designed to supplement but in no way substitute for funds received from the state of Tennessee. As with most public higher education institutions, private support is beneficial for enhanced initiatives or programs, but not for the core mission of undergraduate education, which most donors believe should be provided by the state.
It’s important to note that, generally, at least 98 percent of what is raised overall in this campaign and in the university’s history is restricted to a specific program or purpose and cannot be used to cover operating costs.
This is also the case for the university’s endowment because almost 100 percent of its annual distribution is restricted to fund programs and initiatives designated by donors and is not available to cover general operating expenditures. The two most significant donor designations (accounting for 78 percent of the amount distributed) are for faculty and instructional support and scholarships and fellowships. The remaining endowment spending is designated for research, public service and institutional support.
Endowments “pay out” 4 to 5 percent to ensure a donor can have as great an impact in the future (for perpetuity) as they are having today. This payout is established to ensure that scholarships and funding for faculty are always in place, no matter how well the overall fund is performing.
Our goal centers on establishing that balance between improving the quality of the university, paying the steadily rising operating costs and keeping tuition affordable so that we don’t impact access to any of our campuses. That is where private support -- and this campaign -- plays a significant role in that equation.
How is our endowment used now?
In fiscal year 2007, annual endowment spending was used to support the following: instruction, which includes faculty chairs and professorships, $14.2 million; student scholarships and fellowships, $13.5 million; research, $5 million; institutional support, $1.1 million; and public service, $712,000. Approximately $1.1 million was reinvested in capital last year. These estimates include all university endowment funds, the UT Foundation Inc., UC (Chattanooga) Foundation funds and Tennessee Chairs of Excellence funds.
How can a campaign impact the need for facilities and improve employee compensation?
As noted, private dollars are a vital part of the equation related to state funds, tuition and other sources. Donors appreciate the opportunity to donate to building funds or efforts to equip classrooms or labs with the latest technology. We’ve been extremely successful in developing public-private partnerships to fulfill a significant vision for state-of-the-art facilities. We think that the new College of Business Administration building, the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy and the Min Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building are key examples of using both resources wisely to advance each of those programs and the experiences that we can provide students who will use them for years to come.
Improving employee compensation at all levels remains a top institutional priority. That can be addressed only with operating funds provided by the state and tuition. Private dollars can, however, allow us to add to faculty lines and endowed chairs, and those contributions play a role in helping to reduce our need to cover those expenses through additional operating dollars.
Why should I or anyone else invest in higher education?
Universities are truly the future and can have an impact on a state’s educational attainment, job opportunities, research base and economic well-being.
Universities help to shape the next generations of leaders and people who are going to push the state and nation forward. UT brings a continued rebirth of people, and their energy and abilities help us all to succeed. Human capital is our future. That’s what is going to differentiate us as a society -- our people and our ability to move the societal needle forward.
Dreams without opportunities to fulfill them successfully are only dreams. When these dreams can become a reality that’s significant, and it’s a positive, rewarding feeling to see the potential realized.
How many other campaigns of this magnitude are going on right now?
UT is among 28 universities that are in the public phase of a campaign to raise at least $1 billion, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy (as of Marhc, 2008).
- Brown University
- California Institute of Technology
- Columbia University
- Cornell University
- Dartmouth College
- Indiana University at Bloomington
- The Johns Hopkins University
- New York University
- North Carolina State University
- Princeton University
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Stanford University
- Syracuse University
- Tufts University
- University of Chicago
- University of Florida
- University of Illinois
- University of Maryland at College Park
- University of Michigan
- University of Missouri at Columbia
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Pittsburgh
- University of Virginia
- University of Washington
- Vanderbilt University
- Virginia Tech
- Yale University
