Stanford Raises $6.2 Billion

Fundraising results set new record as Harvard plans capital campaign.

Stanford University announced that its capital campaign had raised a record $6.2 billion—a towering sum that will no doubt figure in Harvard fundraisers' planning as they continue to refine the goals for a University capital drive expected to be announced publicly in the next couple of years.

The Stanford Challenge, concluded December 31, originally aimed to bring in $4.3 billion. Some 166,000 donors contributed to the campaign. Programmatic priorities funded include initiatives on human health, the environment/energy and sustainability, international engagements, multidisciplinary research across the institution, K-12 education, and the arts. According to Stanford's report, the new funds will support $254 million in support for need-based undergraduate scholarships; 139 new endowed faculty positions; 366 graduate fellowships; and construction or renovation of 38 campus buildings—all things Harvard will want to gain support for, too (including renewal of the undergraduate Houses; much more substantial endowment support for the vastly expanded lower- and middle-income-family financial aid made available to College students during the past decade; financing to complete a redesigned science complex in Allston; and programmatic initiatives yet to be detailed).

According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, Yale's most recent campaign, concluded last year, raised $3.9 billion. Cornell has raised more than $3 billion toward its eventual goal of $4.75 billion, and Columbia has raised $4.4 billion as it seeks to reach a goal of $5 billion (increased from an original $4 billion) by December 2013. The evolving targets for Harvard's fund drive will likely reflect both Stanford's total and the University of Southern California's announced $6-billion campaign, launched last summer.

You might also like

The Roman Empire’s Cosmopolitan Frontier

Genetic analysis reveals a culture enriched from both sides of the Danube.

Tobacco Smoke and Tuberculosis

Harvard researchers illuminate a longstanding epidemiological connection. 

Discourse and Discipline

Harvard’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences broaches two tough topics.

Most popular

Small-Town Roots

Professors’ humble beginnings, concentration choices, and a mini history of Harvard and Radcliffe presidents

Vita: Fanny Bullock Workman

Brief life of a feisty mountaineer: 1859-1925

Being Black at Work

Realizing the full potential of black employees

More to explore

Illustration of a box containing a laid-off fossil fuel worker's office belongings

Preparing for the Energy Transition

Expect massive job losses in industries associated with fossil fuels. The time to get ready is now.

Apollonia Poilâne standing in front of rows of fresh-baked loaves at her family's flagship bakery

Her Bread and Butter

A third-generation French baker on legacy loaves and the "magic" of baking

Illustration that plays on the grade A+ and the term Ai

AI in the Academy

Generative AI can enhance teaching and learning but augurs a shift to oral forms of student assessment.