The biggest fundraising programme ever launched by a Scottish university has achieved its ambitious first target and is well on the way to turning what were once only aspirations into a remarkable reality.
The Sixth Century Campaign aims to raise £150 million for the University of Aberdeen by 2010 - the first decade of the ancient University's own sixth century -- and is the largest fundraising programme ever undertaken by any UK higher education institution outside Oxford and Cambridge. The ambitious Campaign was launched in March 1999 to help the University rise to the challenges of the future and continue to innovate, progress and succeed, and has now surpassed its Phase I goal of raising £40 million by the end of 2002.
The Campaign aims to raise substantial funds for endowments for student aid; the creation of new research, teaching and recreation facilities; the revitalisation of teaching facilities; and creating and enhancing research centres. The success of the Campaign will enable the University to achieve its vision of becoming a premier teaching and research institution dedicated to academic excellence.
The Campaign was launched with the support of HRH The Prince of Wales as Campaign Patron, and the University Chancellor, Lord Wilson of Tillyorn, as Chairman. A host of other leading figures also lent their patronage.
At a special celebratory event this evening (Tuesday, December 3), Professor C Duncan Rice, Principal & Vice-Chancellor, University of Aberdeen, will be marking the successful completion of this first major milestone and thanking the University's many supporters.
Principal Rice, said: "I am proud to have seen the University community respond so magnificently to the ambitious targets set by the Sixth Century Campaign. To not only have reached our first target of £40 million, but also exceed it by some £7 million, is a considerable achievement.
"This Campaign supports our ambition to make the University an even stronger environment for excellence in teaching and research. It also recognises that in an era of declining government funding, we have to embrace philanthropy to secure the investment to achieve that ambition."
The success of the Campaign is crucial at a time when universities throughout the UK are having to rely on sources of non-Government funding to remain at the forefront of the competitive international world of academic teaching, research and innovation.
Over 200 guests are expected to attend this evening's event, including Helen Liddell MP, Secretary of State for Scotland, who will be proposing the toast to the University. Mrs Liddell said: "Universities, like business, have to be able to grasp opportunities and face the challenges of world wide competition. The University of Aberdeen is already up there as a world leader in education and research and the achievements we are celebrating tonight will develop this potential even further."
HRH The Prince of Wales has sent a congratulatory message to the University, extending his best wishes for the Campaign's continued success.
The first milestone, to raise £40 million by the end of 2002, has been surpassed. Over 3,000 graduates have given about £7.5 million with other friends and supporters of the University providing over £2 million. In addition, many individuals have decided to leave legacies to the University, and these amount to some £9 million. Over 60 companies have made gifts of over £5 million, while the remainder - and the largest single sector of Phase I funding - comes from 30 Trusts and Foundations. The number of individuals, charities, companies and corporate donors who have already responded to the Sixth Century Campaign is impressive and is set to grow as efforts intensify to raise the remainder of the £150 million total.
There is much to celebrate as the Sixth Century Campaign enters its fourth year. What is clear from the thousands of donations that have been received so far is that there is widespread support for the vision of strengthening one of Scotland's great institutions. At the beginning of its sixth century, the University of Aberdeen can look forward to the future with confidence.