FARM REPORT

Results Break Record

The Stanford Challenge brings in $6.23 billion.

March/April 2012

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The essence of the Stanford Challenge, a five-year campaign that raised $6.23 billion, was its clarity of purpose in an era of complex educational change. The fund-raising effort, which concluded December 31, provides pivotal support for developing the kind of interdisciplinary approach and campus-wide collaboration that has become a driving force for both research and teaching.

The campaign, which got under way in 2006 with a goal of $4.3 billion, so reshaped the way faculty and students work, said President John Hennessy, that it "enabled Stanford to assume a larger role in addressing global problems. We are already making a greater difference."

More than 166,000 alumni, students, parents, corporations, foundations and friends of the University made gifts. A force of 10,360 individuals volunteered their time and initiative. An overview of the campaign highlights the breadth of its accomplishments.

- The campaign's overarching components earmarked $2.33 billion for "seeking solutions" (including initiatives involving human health, the environment and sustainability); $2.11 billion for "sustaining a foundation of excellence" (which featured core support for students and faculty); and $1.61 billion for "educating leaders" (including commitments to the arts, K-12 education and undergraduate and graduate education).

139 new endowed faculty positions were created, including provostial professorships, directorships and school chairs.

More than $250 million was raised for need-based undergraduate scholarships.

38 new facilities have opened or are in construction, including the science and engineering quad and the Bing Concert Hall in a new arts district.

Research funding included $27 million in seed grants for multidisciplinary collaboration.

The late Susanna Atwell, '37, MA '38, provided an unrestricted bequest of $8 million in matching funds for schools and programs, helping to encourage gifts to the University's annual funds from students and recent graduates.

366 new graduate fellowships were established, including more than five dozen in interdisciplinary programs.

More than 1,500 people notified Stanford that they had included the University in their estate plans.

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