Alumni Association Home > Past Issues > 2006 > May-June 2006	Print View

The more pressing question, however, is: “What do we need to do to get there?” To answer this we look to the Metrics and Measurements task force, one of 34 task forces formed to help implement the University’s strategic positioning plans.

To measure the U’s progress on its way to the top, this task force has adopted criteria developed by a national center that annually ranks the top American research universities. These gauges include federal research expenditures, total research expenditures, endowment assets, faculty awards, national academy members, doctorates awarded, post-doctoral appointees, students’ SAT scores—and annual giving.

We’ve noticed encouraging trends in giving over the past three years. The University has seen a 20 percent increase in alumni donors during this period of time. In fiscal year 2005, 51,000 alumni made gifts to the U, an increase of 8 percent compared with the previous year. And we’re pleased to learn that the numbers of young alumni giving back to their alma mater are up, which validates the increasingly positive feedback that the U receives from recent graduates about the quality of their educational experience.

This is all very welcome news. But for a top-ranked university, we can and should do better. The goal over the next three years is to increase alumni giving to more than 60,000 so we’re in the top five of the Big Ten and, most important, so students, faculty, academics, research, and other programs at the U are getting the help they need.

Because you’re an alumni association member, I know that you care about and take pride in your alma mater. While membership is a very important way to support the U, it’s not the same as a gift. Alumni giving is critical to building a strong University. Private gifts create opportunity for students, attract world-class faculty, and support leading-edge research, academic programs, and new buildings.

Contributions of any amount make a difference. Last year, gifts from hundreds of alumni were combined to create a new $250,000 endowed scholarship fund for students in the College of Liberal Arts. At the College of Biological Sciences, alumni gifts to the “Habitat for Biologists” project made it possible to build new lodging at Lake Itasca Biological Station to accommodate the increasing number of female students in the college.

Also thanks to private giving, the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Raptor Center was able to treat more than 100 great gray owls last year. The Weisman Art Museum presented “Chicano Visions,” a major exhibit featuring works by emerging figures in the Chicano art movement, to the largest audience since the museum’s opening year. And many special student projects, such as the Institute of Technology Solar Vehicle Project, are 100 percent supported by private giving.

So I ask you to help the University in its quest to reach the top three. Please consider making a gift to the University college, program, or campus of your choice. Visit www.giving.umn.edu to learn more about how private gifts play a critical role in leading the University to success.