Though Queen’s Initiative Campaign has raised 80 per cent of its fundraising goal, not all faculties are keeping up.
The Initiative Campaign began in 2006 as an effort to raise $500 million for the University. Contributors to the campaign donate to one of 12 priorities, which include individual faculties.
Before last week, Athletics and Recreation had raised only 28 per cent of its goal, while the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) and the Faculty of Education are each still at 35 per cent.
The funds will go towards developing the university’s facilities and funding the activities of individual faculties.
Most of the campaigns have raised around 70 to 90 per cent of their goals.
The Faculty of Arts and Science has raised 102 per cent of its goal, the School of Business has raised 76 per cent and Library and Archives has raised 70 per cent.
Athletics and Recreation told the Journal in July that the donations were slow to come in at the start of the campaign because the department didn’t have advancement staff until last year. Tom Hewitt, the chief development officer of advancement, said support fluctuates for fundraising campaigns.
However, he said, Stu Lang’s pledge last week to donate $10 million to the project, set to go towards replacing Richardson Stadium, will make a huge difference in encouraging other benefactors to donate.
“The leadership from Stu Lang … gives us incredible momentum on the goal to raise $25 million for the revitalized Stadium,” he said via email.
The University has a “number of discussions underway” with current and potential benefactors, he said, and it will ask for their support for projects at Queen’s.
After the donation, funding for Athletics is now at 59 per cent of its target.
Hewitt didn’t say why the Faculty of Education or the SGS have raised less money, but said they “continue talking with alumni, benefactors and friends about how best they can support the priority needs in those two areas at Queen’s.”
“Major gifts can quickly move us closer to reaching the fundraising goals,” he said.
The funds raised by Athletics will go to the replacement stadium as well as to athletic awards and greater funding for coaches.
The Faculty of Education has raised about $1 million out of a goal of $3 million. The funds will go towards a UNESCO Chair for Arts and Learning and a Teaching Excellence Fund.
There were no representatives from the faculty available for comment by deadline.
The SGS has raised slightly less than $3.5 million. Brenda Brouwer, vice-provost and dean of the School of Graduate Studies, said the numbers aren’t representative of total donations.
“The total amount raised in support of graduate student awards is much higher, since many donors wish to support graduate students in a particular faculty,” she told the Journal via email.
For example, donations to graduate student supports may be sent to the Faculty of Arts and Science instead of the SGS.
“The SGS is not in competition with faculties for donor support, as our goal is to build the scholarship base for graduate students and this occurs through donations to academic faculties as well as the SGS,” she said.
Brouwer added that the SGS has asked the Office of Advancement to provide a tally of donations tagged for graduate student awards.
“This will provide a better reflection of where we are on achieving the goal of building the grad scholarship base,” she said.
Tags
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s)-in-Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to journal_editors@ams.queensu.ca.
