Duke Forward reaches halfway point

Three years into its seven year campaign, Duke Forward has raised 50.1 percent of its $3.25 billion goal. 

Duke Forward is a University-wide fundraising campaign designed to foster continued innovation at Duke. About $1.325 billion was raised during the campaign’s silent phase, which began in July 2010. The public phase of the campaign began in October 2012. 

The campaign will conclude in June 2017 and will raise funds for the University’s 10 schools, health system, athletics, facilities and financial aid. According to the campaign strategic plan, Duke Forward’s aims include “enriching the Duke experience, activating Duke’s power for the world and sustaining our momentum.”

“The goal of any campaign is to make the University a better, stronger place for future generations, and that’s what Duke Forward is doing,” said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations.

Prior to the announcement of the campaign, each school formed a strategic plan for spending the money raised.

“The Duke Forward campaign will enable us to remain at the forefront of innovation in higher education,” reads Trinity’s strategic plan. “Philanthropic investments in our unique educational opportunities, world-class faculty, and vital financial aid programs will keep our vibrant community of faculty and scholars on a trajectory of success.” 

From bills to buildings

Financial aid is an essential part of the University’s identity, said Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost of undergraduate education.

Part of the funds raised by the campaign are intended to finance the construction of new dormitories on both East and West campuses, Nowicki said.  

“A big part of this campaign is to further support the living experience of students on campus,” he said. “Not just so Duke is a better place, but so we further Duke as a unique living and learning community.”

He added that it is essential that Duke maintain the appeal of its campus experience as students shift into the digital age. What will separate an expensive residential education from taking top notch classes online is the “residential liberal arts experience” that Duke can provide, Nowicki said.

“It isn’t just the courses students take, it is the entire experience that students have on campus,” he said. “That is something you just cannot get anywhere else.”

Nowicki added that money raised by the campaign will finance the continuation and expansion of DukeEngage and that the University is always looking for more money to support such programs that aid students’ learning experiences, he said.

“Duke Forward will help to maintain innovative learning both in and out of the classroom,” Nowicki said. “Programs like Duke Immerse and DukeEngage provide a different way of thinking about learning.”

Nowicki noted that some of the money raised by the campaign has already been spent.

During the silent phase of Duke Forward, the Charlotte-based Duke Endowment-—a philanthropic group independent of the University—pledged $80 million to fund construction on the West Union Building, Page Auditorium and Baldwin Auditorium. The University began construction in Fall 2011 with Baldwin renovations, which are scheduled to be completed in the Fall.

University-wide, administrators have big plans for campaign funds.

“Several of the larger gifts are in the form of endowed professorships and scholarships that we are already spending,” said Tom Katsouleas, dean of the Pratt School of Engineering.

Among Pratt’s gifts is a $10 million donation from Jeff Vinik, Pratt ’81 and his wife Penny, to establish 10 professorships, Katsouleas said. The donation was a matching challenge gift that needed matching from other donors—other donors have now matched eight of the 10 posts.  

Katsouleas added that Pratt will use campaign dollars to fund program growth in the form of a new joint building with the physics department. He noted that the goals of Duke Forward are directly in line with the goals of Pratt.

“The campaign really supports two main things—Duke’s excellence, which needs continuing support to maintain and move forward and our vision for a new type of education that engages students in hands-on learning tied to big societal issues,” he said.

The endowed professorships and scholarships are examples of the first goal, and Bass Connections—a new interdisciplinary program funded by Duke Forward—and a new future engineering building are examples of the second, Katsouleas said.

The Divinity School is also benefiting from the contributions of donors, said Dan Struble, associate dean for external relations of the Divinity School.

“The philanthropic support the campaign is generating is essential to assuring the highest quality education for our students through support for student financial aid and for faculty, and to creating a better world through our many centers and initiatives,” Struble said.

Fuqua School of Business’ $100 million goal will be used to recruit and retain faculty, create innovative student experiences that connect academics to practice and provide merit scholarships, wrote Erin Medlyn, public relations manager for Fuqua, in an email June 18. She added that one third of full-time MBA students receive some form of merit scholarship. 

Fuqua’s full-time MBA program is the fourth least expensive of the top 20 schools, but students graduate with the largest debt load, she noted.

The School of Law plans on using its funds in three areas—endowing faculty, supporting its annual fund and providing scholarships. 

The Nicholas School plans on using Duke Forward to fund environmental entrepreneurship programs, field trips for experiential learning experiences and new research projects in the school’s future location, the  Duke Environment Hall, to be completed March 2014. 

Representatives from the Duke School of Law and the Nicholas School for the Environment could not be reached, as they are out of the country for the summer.

Progress so far

According to a June 17 progress report for the campaign, Duke Libraries leads the fundraising totals, with 69 percent of their $45 million goal reached. The Nicholas School for the Environment is close behind, having raised 67 percent of its $55 million goal. Athletics has raised 58 percent of its $250 million goal. The Divinity School, the Fuqua School of Business, the School of Law, the Pratt School of Engineering and Duke Medicine have also surpassed half of their goals.

The Sanford School of Public Policy, Trinity College of Arts and Sciences and its graduate school are the only entities to fall below the 50 percent mark, with 49, 47 and 15 percent of their respective goals raised. 

Since the campaign became public, 11 donations equal to or exceeding $5 million have been announced. Two of these gifts have come from the Charlotte-based Duke Endowment—$5 million went to the law school and $5.74 million went to the Divinity School, both announced in June. 

Five of the announced donations support Duke Athletics. Dr. Steven Scott, a member of Duke Forward’s campaign steering committee, and his wife, Rebecca Scott, Allied and Graduate Health ’79, donated $10 million for a new athletic facility in October and gave an additional $20 million in April for a sports medicine pavilion. Chair of the Board of Trustees David Rubenstein, Trinity ’70, donated $10 million to the athletic department in December. Roy and Merilee Bostock, both Trinity ’62, donated $5 million in February. Morris Williams, Trinity ’63, and his wife Ruth, Women’s College ’63, donated $5 million in May to support track and field. 

Nancy Nasher, Law ’79, and her husband David Haemisegger donated $5 million to the Nasher Museum of Art in October. In April, Rubenstein donated $10 million to the Sanford School for Public Policy.

Anne Bass, co-chair of the campaign and a member of the Board of Trustees, donated $50 million—the largest single donation of the campaign in its public phase—to fund Bass Connections in January. The new program aims to enhance students’ educational experience by connecting them with other students and faculty for academic and extracurricular programming across a variety of disciplines. After two years of planning, Bass Connections will begin in the Fall under the leadership of Susan Roth, vice provost for interdisciplinary studies. 

University trustee Ralph Eads, Trinity ‘81, and his wife, Lisa, donated $5.5 million to the University in June.  $4.25 million of the total will support Duke’s Energy Initiative, while the remaining $1.25 million will be divided between the annual funds for Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, Sanford School of Public Policy, Fuqua School of Business and Duke Athletics.