The deans of every school at the University and leaders from various centers within the University have begun meeting monthly in a group called the Deans Development Forum to strategize about the direction of the new Capital Campaign.
University President John T. Casteen, III formed the Forum in October with the primary goal of coordinating each school's individual campaign with the goals of the entire University.
"Each of these schools has very specific aspirations, and I think by putting our heads together we'll accomplish things as a University," Darden School Dean Robert Harris said.
Last January the Capital Campaign began with an initial goal of raising $3 billion dollars by 2011. Since then the University reports that it has collected $566.2 million.
Currently the campaign is in the quiet phase -- the campaign goes public in Oct. 2006.
"This is still in the formative nucleus phase," Director of Development Communications William Sublette said. "This is the time that we raise some of the gifts that lay the foundation for the Campaign."
The Forum is aiming to further the goals and mission of the Campaign. The Forum's first two meetings have focused on developing a vision statement and identifying themes that incorporate every school at the University, College Dean Edward Ayers said.
"I'm very pleased with the ways it's shaping up thus far and it's really great that the deans have an input at the outset," Ayers said.
The Capital Campaign and its success may take on particular significance in light of the higher education restructuring reform -- previously referred to as the charter initiative -- that is expected to be approved by the Virginia General Assembly this week.
"It's going to make it more compelling, if we're going to succeed on our own two feet we need to be successful," Ayers said of how the pending legislation might affect the direction of the campaign.
The Commonwealth currently funds $9,393 of an in-state students' tuition at the University. The University's peers, including elite public schools like the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill -- which receives $19,941 per student from the state -- are more dependent upon state support University Spokesperson Carol Wood said.
"We have mighty aspirations," Wood said. "In order to continue to fund them, we are going to have to look to private sources."
Endowment resources, which are expected to be enhanced significantly by the Capital Campaign, will help the University fund initiatives independently. The Endowment, which generates revenue annually from investments, is used to fund new construction, endow professorships, scholarships and support faculty and student initiatives at the University.
"Right now we are completing a building campaign, so our first goal leading into that Capital Campaign is to complete the fundraising around the building," said Carl Zeithaml, McIntire School of Commerce dean.
The school will then direct fundraising attention toward program support, student support and faculty support, he added.
Currently the University's $1.8 billion Endowment ranks 21st nationally, according to TheCenter -- a University of Florida based organization that studies the competitiveness of universities nationally. The University's annual giving of $262 million in 2003 ranks 14th nationally.
The Forum is chaired by Ayers and Law School Dean John Jeffries. It includes 16 people, the deans of all the University's schools, the Provost, the Director of the Miller Center for Public Affairs, the Director of Athletics and leaders of other organizations within the University.
The Forum will address the University's institutional brand, campaign issues and benchmarks for development-officer performance, said Robert Sweeney, senior vice president for development and public affairs.
"The deans have been providing really superb leadership on these issues," Sweeney said. "What we've been doing is making the deans key partners in the institutional and strategic process of campaign planning, institutional positioning and overall institutional direction."
The Forum met last week and will meet again in mid-March.
"I'd imagine we'll meet for years to come," Ayers said.
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