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I used to look forward to the quarterly performance updates from the investment firms where I have entrusted my hard-earned savings. Each statement showed new highs and double-digit growth. Regardless of the investment, the gains one could amass seemed limitless.

Sadly, the days of irrational exuberance are behind us. Now I await the portfolio statements with the same dread I feel for our Minnesota winters. Where can one invest today to recapture the kind of gains we enjoyed at the end of the last millennium?

The landscape appears bleak, but I think I have the answer. It’s an investment opportunity all alumni ought to get in on. I’ve found an enterprise guided by a strong leader with a clear vision. It’s ranked among the best in its field. It has strong, positive momentum and is attracting investment from both public and private partners Even better, it’s right in our backyard.

Four years ago, President Mark Yudof came to the U with a mission. In his words: "Our plan is to provide the best facilities and equipment for our teachers, researchers, and learners. Our plan is to reinvigorate the economy and soul of Minnesota with new ideas and new technology."

President Yudof’s plan is working. Today the University is bristling with cranes and construction equipment as money from both donors and the state legislature is put to work renovating facilities, establishing centers of excellence in areas such as digital technology and agricultural research, and supporting the president’s commitment to improving undergraduate education. Just recently, a University of Florida think tank ranked the University of Minnesota as one of the top three public research schools in the United States. The U’s admissions office announced that freshman applications are up 34 percent over previous years. And this fall’s class is the most academically prepared in the school’s history. There is a momentum at our alma mater the likes of which has not been seen for some time.

Not all is rosy, however. Over the past 20 years, public financial support for higher education has declined both here in Minnesota and around the United States. Additionally, the percentage of our alumni who give annually to the University (11 percent) ranks at the bottom of the Big Ten. Yet last year, more than 15,000 alumni took time to call their state senators and representatives during the legislative debate. Our voices spoke loud and clear: We do not want to see the quality of our university compromised. Now, as an alumnus committed to making this University great, I am asking you to speak with your pocketbooks as well.

Campaign Minnesota is a $1.3 billion fund-raising effort to make great things possible at the University. It has three main objectives: to attract students of promise and help them succeed, to recruit and support great faculty, and to invest in strategic opportunities as well as research and academic initiatives. But great universities need great supporters. A record number of donors—including businesses, individuals, and University faculty and staff—have already helped propel Campaign Minnesota 91 percent of the way toward its goal. Nearly 68,000 alumni have contributed so far. As alumni, we can make the difference. If every one of our approximately 300,000 living alumni gave something, no matter how small, the sum of our efforts could produce millions of dollars to help the University continue to excel.

Gifts to Campaign Minnesota represent a long-term investment in the University. For example, more than half the money raised is for endowments. The principal stays intact and is invested while the returns go toward programs designated by the donor, ensuring that the work made possible by the gift continues forever.

In a time when most portfolios are suffering, this is an investment that works. Money invested thus far has already brought star-quality researchers and teachers to the University. New state-of-the-art facilities are in use or nearing completion, and we’re seeing a stream of students with excellent credentials choosing the U. Please join me in investing in excellence—and make a gift to the University of Minnesota today. For information, visit www.campaign.umn.edu, or call 612-624-3333 or 800-775-2187.