With 20 months remaining in the Victors for Michigan fundraising campaign, Vice President for Development Jerry May says the university remains focused on pushing ahead to meet a wide range of needs across the university.
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May made his comments during the Thursday Board of Regents meeting as the university recognized a $15 million gift from the Ford Motor Co. for a new robotics building for the College of Engineering, and a $5 million gift from longtime donors Bill and Dee Brehm for scholarships in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
May also said he was delighted to report that generous U-M donors had pushed the university’s Victors for Michigan fundraising campaign past the $4 billion mark — one of the highest fundraising goals of any public university when the campaign was launched in 2013.
“Campaign momentum has been strong,” May said. “In just the last few weeks, thousands of donors have helped propel us forward” including the Ford and Brehm gifts and more than 2,000 university faculty, staff and retirees who have made personal donations.
But May made it clear there is still much work to be done.
“There are still many opportunities to make an impact in the months ahead. Student support remains our top priority,” May says, noting that $917 million has been raised toward the $1 billion goal for student support. Additional areas of focus will be unit goals and other strategic priorities such as precision health, the biosciences, the Poverty Solutions initiative, sustainability, innovation and a wide range of efforts focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.
May said his team remains focused on raising at least an additional $484 million to ensure units across the university are able to meet their needs. “In short, our world still needs victors.”
