Though Gordon F. Rainey's term on the Board of Visitors ended last week, his long record of service to the University is not yet over; Rainey will continue to hold the position of chairman of the University's Capital Campaign?.
In addition to serving the University as a Board member for two four-year terms and chairing the Capital Campaign, Rainey also held the position of rector of the University from 2003-05 and previously served as president of the Alumni Association's Board of Managers.
"In my opinion, Gordon Rainey is one of the most important volunteers in the modern history of the University," Bob Sweeney, senior vice president for development and public affairs, said, noting that Rainey has served on virtually every volunteer committee.
Rainey "has taken the lead in forging two major University/industrial partnerships, each of them the largest of its kind in our history," President John T. Casteen, III wrote in an e-mail.
Under Rainey's leadership on various committees, the University also completed its restructuring agreement with the commonwealth, which Sweeney maintains, "gives us unprecedented autonomy and control over the University's destiny."
Rainey was also the architect of the AccessUVa program, the University's financial aid program designed to make higher education more affordable for all admitted students.
According to Casteen's e-mail, the University has also undergone extensive physical growth as a result of Rainey's work as rector and as a member of several committees; Rainey played a central role in the completion of John Paul Jones Arena and has been involved with the South Lawn Project.
"There's nobody that cares more about the University than Gordon," fellow Board member Alan Diamonstein said. "We'll miss him on the Board, but thank goodness we've still got him chairing the fundraising committee."
At various times since 2000, Rainey has also served as trustee of the Law School Foundation, chairman of the Student Affairs and Athletics Committee and a member of the Board's Executive Committee, Finance Committee,Buildings and Grounds Committee, College at Wise Committee and Audit Committee.
"He's really devoted, beyond his family and his business, a major portion of his adult life to the betterment of the University of Virginia," Sweeney said.
Casteen expressed a similar sentiment, noting that Rainey's devotion to the University has extended beyond his involvement in the Board's work.
"He has been remarkable for his broad range of interests in the University's people -- staff members, faculty members, perhaps above all students and their parents," Casteen wrote. "He has been an absolute gentleman, a generous spokesperson for what is right and good and a thoughtful contributor"
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