University News

University of Virginia’s ‘Honor the Future’ Campaign Reaches $4 Billion Milestone

April 28, 2022 • By Charlotte Morford, charlottemorford@virginia.edu Charlotte Morford, charlottemorford@virginia.edu

An aerial shot of a colorful sunset over UVA Grounds.

The campaign already has fueled advances in medical research, supported faculty and financial aid, increased accessibility for first-generation students and transformed facilities. (Photo by Sanjay Suchak, University Communications)

University of Virginia President Jim Ryan announced this week that the school’s “Honor the Future” fundraising campaign has crossed the $4 billion threshold, against an established goal of $5 billion.

Launched publicly in 2019, the campaign has already made a profound impact on the University’s students, faculty, facilities and research in Charlottesville, Wise County and Northern Virginia.

Honor the Future has fueled new advances in medical research, supported outstanding faculty and scholarship, increased accessibility for first-generation students and transformed UVA’s facilities at the outset of its third century – all in pursuit of Ryan’s strategic goal to make UVA “the best public university in 2030, and one of the very best in the world, whether public or private.”

“I am deeply grateful for the generosity of our alumni, parents and friends,” Ryan said. “Their gifts of all sizes are inspirational – they show a confidence in UVA’s current and future opportunities to improve lives, not just in our community, but around the world.”

A significant achievement of the campaign is the success of a matching program to create new endowed scholarships and professorships. The Bicentennial Scholars Fund, named in honor of UVA’s 200th anniversary in 2017, has generated $565 million in combined gifts and matching funds to support almost 480 new endowed scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students. The broad array of new scholarships is having an immediate and lasting effect on UVA’s efforts to increase accessibility and affordability while attracting the most exceptional students from all backgrounds, the University said.

This week, Princeton Review’s Best Value Colleges for 2022 rankings recognized UVA as the No. 1 public university in the nation for financial aid, and as the No. 3 best value public institution overall.

Donors to UVA have also supported the Bicentennial Professors Fund, which has raised approximately $425 million to create more than 120 endowed professorships across the University. UVA provides matching funds for donor gifts to co-invest in faculty excellence and to recruit and retain the extraordinary scholars whose teaching and research will lead their fields and UVA into the future.

“When you combine private philanthropy and matching funds from the University, the total impact on our students and faculty through the two Bicentennial Funds is nearly $1 billion,” Mark Luellen, UVA’s vice president of advancement, said. “These scholarships and professorships are real game-changers. They’re helping us sustain the UVA tradition of outstanding teaching and research and building on that history to make us an even greater university for decades to come.”

In addition to funding new scholarships and professorships, Honor the Future is helping transform the University’s facilities on the historic Grounds in Charlottesville and across Virginia.

Improvements to the UVA Medical Center and new buildings for the School of Data Science, the Karsh Institute of Democracy, the McIntire School of Commerce, the Darden School of Business, Athletics, the Student Health and Wellness Center, the Contemplative Sciences Center, and a new performing arts center have all been generously supported by campaign donors. UVA’s Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, a new addition to the historic Grounds, has received broad acclaim, and philanthropy has helped preserve Thomas Jefferson’s iconic designs with a complete restoration of the Rotunda and other elements of the original Academical Village.

“As aspirational as a $5 billion goal is, if this campaign is successful, I believe we can set a strong foundation for the next 25 years,” Peter Grant, volunteer chair of the campaign, said. “We are fortunate to be the beneficiaries of generous alumni and friends who support the University, whether it be with current gifts and pledges or from planned gifts – all contribute to the great promise of the future ahead.”