An ambitious fundraising campaign, faculty recruitment and future construction on Grounds were among the topics presented to and discussed by the University's Board of Visitors June 11 and 12 in the board room of the Rotunda. Last week's meeting was one of four such annual meetings attended by the Board's 16 members.
Robert D. Sweeney, senior vice president for development and public affairs, presented a fundraising campaign plan to raise $3 billion by 2011 to the Board's External Affairs Committee Saturday.
The goal is the most ambitious of its kind among universities nationally. The campaign, which aims to almost double the $1.4 billion raised by the University's last fundraising effort that ended in 2001, began in January. In order to reach the $3 billion mark, a staff of 100 in the Office of Development and Public Affairs will contact over 25,000 potential donors and are committed to raising $1 million a day. The campaign will emphasize donations over $5 million.
Vice President and Provost Gene D. Block provided the Board's Educational Policy Committee with an update on what he termed the "successful recruiting season" during the 2003-2004 academic year. Of the University's 152 faculty openings, 87 extended offers have been accepted so far.
The 2003-2004 academic year was unique in the growth of hiring, giving the University the opportunity to expand and enrich its faculty, said Gertrude Frazier, vice provost for faculty advancement.
"Faculty hiring happens every year; however, there was not much hiring in the previous two years because of the budget cuts," Frazier said. "The growth in faculty hiring after a long dry spell is good news."
Along with the hiring effort, Block reported on candidate responses to offers.
"When you make offers people can always say yes or no," Frazier said. "We are interested in using that as a measure of how attractive U.Va. is. Overall our yield rate is good, particularly for white male faculty."
However, there is still room for improvement in the minority candidate yield rates. Block reported that position acceptance by women has been strong while acceptance by African Americans is slightly lower than desired.
"We want to increase the number of African Americans and other minority candidates who say yes," Frazier said.
Many candidates' decisions are influenced by career opportunities for their partners -- academic and otherwise -- and departmental rankings. These factors tend to have a heightened influence among minority candidates, Frazier said
"We offer a strong salary," Frazier said. "Salary is not a major factor in candidates' decisions to say no."
The Board's Educational Policy Committee also heard from University Architect David J. Neuman who reviewed options for future construction on Grounds, specifically potential plans for the Advanced Research and Technology project, including the Fontaine Research Park.
Neuman provided the Board with background information concerning the planning and design of contemporary research buildings, including flexibility, sophistication, facility interdisciplinary interaction among scientists and efficiency in design and operation.
"The presentation was to give the Board background on the project so they would understand and appreciate the cost implications as well as the overall design of the project," Neuman said.
Planning for the project will continue through the fall when Neuman and the planning team will present the Board with a final proposed size and budget for the project. An actual design for the building is set to be complete later in the fall, Neuman said.
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