KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee’s 21st Century Campaign raised $432 million in gifts and pledges with more than half the funds for Knoxville-based programs, officials said Friday.
The figures were announced during a black tie dinner at the Hyatt Regency for campaign leaders and volunteers.
Gov. Don Sundquist and former U.S. Sen. Howard Baker, honorary chair of the campaign, were among the guest speakers at the event.
UT-Knoxville received $233.5 million in gifts and pledges during the campaign.
Giving totals for other Knoxville-based units included the Institute of Agriculture, $34.2 million; Medical Center, $21.7 million; and Institute for Public Service, $3.7 million.
The five-year fund raising effort is only the second statewide campaign in UT history. Its original goal was $250 million, later raised to $308 million.
Approximately 113,000 donors gave $145 million statewide for student support, $51 million for faculty support, $64 million for research and $170 million for academic resources.
At UT-Knoxville giving included: student support, $112 million; faculty support, $26.4 million; research, $3.4 million; and academic resources, $91.2 million.
UT President Joe Johnson said the campaign’s success reflected the individual efforts of many people.
”People are what gifts are all about,” Johnson said. ”To make a difference, to change a life, to honor a memory — these are the motives behind private giving. We will forever be a better university because of this $432 million.”
William B. Stokely III, chair of the campaign and president and chairman of the Stokely Company, said results of the five-year effort should be enjoyed.
”This campaign is a plateau to be enjoyed and a base on which we will build future fund raising efforts,” Stokely said. ”A lot of people believe in this university and back up that belief with gifts and pledges.”
Since the beginning of the campaign, UT’s endowment has grown from $260 million to $568 million, Johnson said.
The largest single campaign gift was $12.4 million from the estate of Hollywood movie producer Clarence and Marian Brown to UT-Knoxville’s theater department.
There were 84 gifts in excess of $1 million and 556 for more than $100,000 each. Seventy-seven percent of UT’s faculty and staff made gifts totaling $6.4 million.
Gift commitments to campuses and units outside Knoxville included: UT-Chattanooga, $33.8 million; UT-Martin, $15.4 million; UT-Memphis, $83.4 million; and the Space Institute at Tullahoma, $2.6 million.
UT first statewide campaign ended in 1980 with gifts and pledges of $57 million, compared with a goal of $35 million.
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