Auburn Hits $200 Million Milestone
Ameera Steward
Campus Writer
Alumni and other donors have donated money to Auburn University for many years, but this year beats the others. This year the donations reached $200 million between October of 2014 and September 2015, said Assistant Vice President of Development Communications and Marketing, Jason Peevy.
According to Peevy before this year Auburn never raised over $150 million in year and most of the donations came from alumni this year. He said the donations are focused on four main areas: students, faculty, programs, and facilities but the donations aren’t limited to these areas.
President Jay Gouge said, “About 70 percent of donations are coming from alums, and that is important for the campaign’s continued success and our national rankings that use alumni participation as a key metric in determining a university’s vitality.”
He also said thinks most alums donate so much because they had a good experience going to Auburn and would like to make it better for students now. According to Peevy the biggest gift comes from John and Rosemary Brown to help build a new performing arts center on campus.
According to Peevy, the new performing arts center will add a cultural element to the institution that has been missing. He said it will enrich the Auburn experience for the students, faculty and staff, and be a tremendous addition beyond the campus and to the entire community.
“It is exciting to think about the future performances that will take place in this new facility, and how it will be broaden the Auburn educational experience,” said Peevy.
Reaching the milestone is sending excitement across the campus for those who know because it will add so much to Auburn’s campus.
Vice President for Development, Jane Parker, said reaching $200 million through new gifts and commitments puts Auburn in a different league in higher education and that it truly is a very exciting achievement. Parker said what is most important is the tremendous positive impact the support will have on students and faculty, and how the very generous philanthropy that is invested in the university will support their work.
“The new scholarships, the support that will enable more Auburn students to study abroad,the additional professorships ad chairs that will enable Auburn to attract and retain the very best faculty-these are examples of the very real difference that this level of support is making at Auburn University. I could not be more proud of or grateful to the Auburn Family for their very generous support and commitment to Auburn,” said Parker.
Gogue said reaching the milestone tells you the power of education and as the president he feels good when he sees people do things like this for Auburn and it makes people feel good.
According to Peevy it says a lot about people and their support and it shows how much belief they have in Auburn and how loyal supporters are. He said people stepped up and showed so much support after the announcement of the comprehensive campaign (This Is Auburn) and it shows how much people loves Auburn.
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