Coming from a small farm town in Idaho, Seth Pratt has been in and out of college since 2007. However, with help from the University of Idaho’s Inspiring Futures campaign, he is on his way to graduate with a dual degree in agriculture science — communication and leadership, and agriculture economics.“It frees up time for me to devote to more studies, rather than working to financially support myself, and it frees up other resources that I can use to help my education,” Pratt said.
With 18 months left, UI’s Inspiring Futures campaign has raised 86.05 percent of its $225 million fundraising goal.
“We have such a strong alumni base, we have such a strong group of folks that love their experience at the university, and they have been very generous,” Chris Murray, vice president of university advancement said.
Murray said funds are donated into four main categories: students, faculty, programs and facilities.
Sixty two million dollars has been raised for student scholarships, along with $50.5 million for endowed faculty support and research. Another $30.5 million will help renovate and rebuild facilities on campus such as the Kibbie Dome and College of Education, Murray said.
Another $50.5 million has been raised for programs at UI such as the McClure Center for Public Policy, and Operation Education, a program that gives support to veterans at UI, Murray said.
“Programs that are making a difference every day for students, and for the state of Idaho,” Murray said.
The campaign was split into four sections to fund the student experience as a whole after consulting with college deans and faculty, Murray said.
“We went to all the different units on campus and we posed a question. ‘Where would funds make the biggest difference for you?'” Murray said. “How do you take the college of business from where you are today, to where you want to be. How to do you make the student experience at college of engineering better.”
With 18 months left in the campaign, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Education, the College of Natural Resources and the College of Science have all surpassed their fundraising goal.
The College of Art and Architecture, Business and Economics, Engineering, Law and Letters Arts and Social Sciences, are all within 25 percent of reaching their goal.
Even with the economic recession, Murray said he is confident UI can reach its fundraising goals.
“Shortly after we launched our campaign we went into the largest recession that the country has seen in quite a while, and so that was, that made some of us nervous,” Murray said. “But we have such a strong alumni base, we have such a strong group of folks that love their experience at the university, and they have been very generous.”
Murray said fundraising campaigns have two stages, a silent stage where administrators organize the campaign and talk to big donors, and a public stage where they promote the campaign. He said the campaign went public April of 2011 to make sure they were on track to make their goal with three and a half years left.
Many students, like Pratt, receive scholarships from specific alumni through the campaign. He said knowing who is helping him pay for college motivates him to succeed in his studies.
“It makes the scholarship recipient feel more accountable to succeed in school, because they know the people who are helping them afford it, and that provides some accountability. That’s important I think,” Pratt said.
Ryan Tarinelli can be reached at [email protected]