SUNY Board of Trustees Commends Fundraising Efforts on Campuses

New York City – The State University of New York Board of Trustees today commended the system’s 64 campuses on fundraising efforts and philanthropic support received over the past year, and called on campuses to re-double their efforts in the 2012-13 academic year.

“Philanthropic support for higher education is a time honored tradition and a key component to financial stability and growth, as private investment provides campuses with a margin of excellence,” said Board Chairman H. Carl McCall. “The SUNY campuses have garnered a great deal of support for their individual missions and infrastructures, and those efforts are to be commended.”

“Campuses that are engaged in proactive and deliberate philanthropic efforts generate more room for economic growth, and these activities serve as excellent community-building platforms that encourage students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends to rally behind a campus,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “Congratulations to all of the campuses on a successful year of fundraising and thank you to the many donors and volunteers who have supported SUNY.”

Recent philanthropic highlights at SUNY include:

• SUNY Brockport this week received the largest gift in the school’s history – a $2 million anonymous donation that will be used to support student scholarships.
• Xerox Foundation pledged an initial gift of $350,000 to the Monroe Community College Foundation to attract more students to STEM disciplines, expand educational opportunities, and establish new scholarships at MCC.
• A gift in excess of $1 million from Kathryn (Kofoed) '54 and Donald Lougheed has established an endowed fund at SUNY Potsdam to support the annual Lougheed Festival of the Arts in perpetuity.
• Stony Brook University received a $150 million gift from Dr. James and Dr. Marilyn Simons to support the campus’ NYSUNY 2020 plan and a new Medical and Research Translation (MART) facility on campus.
• Westchester Community College received a $1.5 million gift for its Single Stop USA program, which offers public benefits screening and application assistance, health insurance enrollment, tax return preparation, financial counseling, and legal services.

Chancellor Zimpher added, “These gifts and the many others presented to SUNY campuses throughout New York are deeply appreciated and will help our campuses to realize their highest ambitions.”

About the State University of New York

The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive university system in the United States, educating approximately 468,000 students in more than 7,500 degree and certificate programs on 64 campuses with nearly 3 million alumni around the globe. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit www.suny.edu.