Officials at the University of Virginia are speculating that the Campaign for U.Va. is going so well they may surpass their fundraising goal by $1 billion, according to the Daily Progress, a Charlottesville publication.
p. As of July 31, U.Va. had collected $1.465 billion of their $3 billion goal. The campaign ends Dec. 31, 2011.
p. If U.Va. does reach their $3 billion goal, they will have the largest fundraising total of any public university in the nation.
p. “We want to be the first privately financed public university,” Bob Sweeney, head of U.Va. fundraising team, told the Daily Progress.
U.Va. officials plan to use the $3 billion to add to science, engineering and technology research. Officials also say they plan to use the money to offset the loss of state funds, per Gov. Tim Kaine’s request that U.Va., the College and Virginia Tech cut 7.5 percent of their funding from the Commonwealth.