Wednesday, October 3, 2001

Fundraising campaign on target
Advancement hopes to raise $230 million by May 2007
By Jill Sutton
Staff Reporter

University Advancement officials are proceeding with “The Campaign for TCU” despite delays because of the terrorist attacks, said Bronson Davis, Vice Chancellor of University Advancement.

The attacks briefly disrupted the campaign to raise funds for University Advancement but the fundraising resumed Sept. 17, he said.

Davis said the campaign, which raises funds for capital improvement projects, is still on target for meeting its $200 to $230 million goal.

The effort, which hopes to raise twice as much money as TCU’s “The Next Frontier” campaign is scheduled to run until May 31, 2007.

“We have raised all but $500,000 for the $7 million baseball stadium, and the Recreation Center will be in for $15 million, which is half the goal, and the other half will come from University borrowing,” said Davis.

Davis said raising funds for the Smith Entrepreneurs Hall is the most critical component of the campaign. It will include a $4.5 million addition for the MBA program, in which $10.5 million of the $15 million has already been raised.

“The Smith Entrepreneurs Hall is critical because it will relieve the space stress presently being experienced by the School of Business,” Davis said.

“This will be the center for our new program in entrepreneurship, and then we are also developing a new center for the MBA program. This building is central to the School of Business’ future and the ground will be broken in January,” he said.

The university is still working on how the renovation of the School of Education building would develop, and the possibilities of expanding Rise and Starpoint schools was being discussed, Davis said.

“We are fairly certain a new building will be in there for a new and/or renovated building for the School of Education and something involving Starpoint and Rise. How all that will be put together, we are still not certain.”

Davis said they are interviewing 300 of TCU’s leaders and top donors who will be key contributors to any campaign that would be launched, and this will actually put them in a better position for achieving their goals.

“We have completed about half of the interviews, and we are taking the pulse of this key group who are giving us ideas and reactions connected to our plans,” said Davis.

Jill Sutton
j.m.sutton@student.tcu.edu