UVA Invests Additional $65 Million in Bicentennial Funds for Scholarships, Professorships

University of Virginia President Jim Ryan on Friday announced an additional contribution of $65 million to the pools of matching funds for two key programs that benefit both students and faculty at UVA.

The Bicentennial Scholars and Bicentennial Professors funds, initiated in 2017 around the bicentennial of the University’s founding, have been one of the most impactful initiatives of the Honor the Future campaign. This combination of philanthropy matched by the University’s Strategic Investment Fund has energized private philanthropy around key strategic initiatives of the University and created more than $588 million for permanently endowed scholarships, as well as more than $468 million for endowed professorships.

“Two of our top priorities for the Honor the Future campaign are making UVA more accessible to all students and attracting and retaining the very best faculty,” Ryan said. “The Bicentennial Scholarship and Professorship programs have been so successful that we are contributing new matching funds to build on our momentum and continue to invest in the lifeblood of UVA: our students and faculty.”

The new investment will add $35 million to the existing pool of $33 million for Bicentennial Scholars, for a total of $68 million available as matching funds. Any endowed scholarship of $100,000 or more will be matched 50 cents on the dollar, and any endowed need-based scholarship of $1 million or more will be matched dollar-for-dollar. Since the Bicentennial Scholarship Fund was established, over 540 endowed scholarship funds have been established across the University.

For the Bicentennial Professors Fund, the new investment of $30 million will be allocated in two parts. The first is $20 million in matching funds to establish four additional University Professorships, a longstanding program that awards the title of “University Professor” to exceptionally distinguished faculty, especially those whose specialties cross multiple disciplines.

“Before the Honor the Future campaign, these professorships did not have significant endowment support,” said Executive Vice President and Provost Ian Baucom. “While we have realized six new endowed University Professorships, the availability of more matching funds will help us meet our goal of creating 10 University Professorships by the end of the campaign.”