Unlike popping champagne corks and warbling “Auld Lang
Syne,” the purchase of a new calendar is a seldom-noted
year-end ritual. Most of us cross it off our December
to-do list with hardly a second thought. “Out with the
old, in with the new,” we quip, replacing the outdated
appointment book filler or removing the calendar from
the wall.
Still, we pause to browse through the calendar's pages—a
smudged, coffee-stained archive of the year's accomplishments.
We remember our hard work, and all the goals we've fulfilled
because of it. Our satisfaction and gratitude inspire
hopes for the year to come.
My 2001 calendar documents a year of extraordinary
accomplishment for the University and IT. The number
of first-year students who have chosen the University
and IT has increased substantially, and we are attracting
students who are better qualified. Academic and faculty
research productivity is high, and every measure of
technology transfer activity is up. The University ranks
third among the nation's top public research universities,
according to a study published in August by The Center
for Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences at
the University of Florida.
By any standard, IT's alumni and friends have been
extremely generous. To date, IT has received more than
11,000 donations during Campaign Minnesota. Over 300
donors have given gifts of $25,000 or more. Seventy-six
percent of the donors are alumni, and almost 200 faculty
and staff have made gifts. Only 8 percent of the donors
are corporations.
Of the $105 million raised during the campaign so far,
$43 million was raised from July 1, 1996, to June 30,
1999, and $62 million has been raised over the last
two and a half years. The college's endowment has increased
by more than $63 million in current and future gifts,
and new bequests to IT total more than $26 million.
I am an optimist by nature, but those figures reinforce
my expectation that we will raise $55 million during
the next 18 months—the amount we need to reach
our Campaign Minnesota goal of $160 million. Last year's
appointment book also reminds me of the many wonderful
people I've met who are committed to the college and
its mission. Not only do our alumni and friends foresee
a bright future for IT, they also want to help us make
that vision a reality.
The collective experience and enthusiasm of our development
team—Paul Allison, Steve Biever, Jennifer Clarke,
and Tom Kinsey—are the other key ingredients that
fuel my optimism. They believe so strongly in what IT
does.
As I said, I am an optimist. I know that in June 2003—if
not earlier—we will celebrate the successful conclusion
of Campaign Minnesota. My 2002 appointment book is both
a blueprint I'll use to reach that goal and a reminder
that bold dreams do come true.
