Michigan State University celebrated its ongoing successful capital campaign with a set of donor and public events today. Dubbed “Empower Extraordinary,” the campaign raised more than $79 million in just the past three months, adding significant momentum to the effort.
To date, nearly 250,000 donors have made more than a million gifts, adding up to more than $1.7 billion in support for the campaign that was publicly launched in October 2014. Gifts received through Dec. 31, 2018 will still count toward the campaign’s final tally.
MSU Interim President John Engler and campaign co-chairs Dee Cook and Bob Skandalaris hosted more than 700 donors at a series of appreciation activities. A public celebration at the College of Music started the day with official groundbreaking for its expansion.
Music pavilion lead donor and College of Natural Science alumnus James K. Billman Jr., was among those attending the groundbreaking. He also will be recognized on the field at the University of Michigan vs. MSU football game. Billman’s support for MSU includes 18 student scholarships and two endowed professorships.
“Dr. Billman is a model of Spartans giving back in this campaign,” Engler said. “He has provided opportunity to more than 150 students, and counting, who have received his scholarships. The professorships he created enable us to recruit rising stars to our faculty. His latest gift, which will significantly expand and enhance how music is studied and performed at MSU, is yet another investment that will add to our vibrant community.”
The campaign has surpassed significant priority fundraising goals. Those include:
- 3,000 student scholarships
- 3,500 new scholarships have thus far been created, each providing $5,000 in annual support for students
- 100 new endowed faculty positions
- 104 new endowed faculty positions have been created
- increasing funding for research
- private support for research has increased by 35 percent and over the life of the campaign has provided more than $315 million
- completing eight major construction projects
- 22 major construction projects have been funded through the campaign with several already underway
Tours and a celebration of the new College of Business pavilion with lead donor and alumnus Edward J. Minskoff were among other activities taking place. Minskoff recently committed $30 million to funding for the pavilion, the largest single gift from an individual in MSU’s history. The pavilion is scheduled for completion in 2019.
Some of the gifts for the Empower Extraordinary campaign came in the form of pledges or charitable bequests. More than $1 billion, however, have already been received and put to work funding student scholarships, graduate fellowships, faculty research, building projects and other programs and initiatives.
