Collegiate Times

President Charles Steger formally announced the university's billion dollar fundraising effort at a gala on Saturday night.

The Campaign for Virginia Tech: Invent the Future had kept venture private since July 1, 2003.

Betsy Flanagan, Vice President for Development and University Relations and one of the leading strategists behind the fundraiser, said, "there's a rule of thumb that when you have a capital campaign, the goal is to raise 40 or 45 percent of your goal before going public."

The kickoff for the campaign was scheduled to take place on April 23, but was delayed by the tragic events of April 16; leaders of the campaign felt it was necessary to reschedule the black-tie event to a more comfortable date.

"The evening opened up with a brief, but really touching, moment of silence," said Michael Kiser, Director of Development Communications. "Part of the job is to carry that history on with us. Both logistically and out of respect for the community it was appropriate (to delay the event)."

It was Steger's wish to keep the major goal private until Saturday night. During the "quiet phase" of the campaign, Tech had already achieved 58 percent of its $1 billion goal. Flanagan described this as a "wonderful figure."

This campaign is the third capital fundraising task that Tech has undertaken. The two previous campaigning projects raised money from 1984 to 1986 and from 1992 to 1998. This third fundraising project began in 2003 and is scheduled for completion in 2010.

The Chronicles of Higher Education's data reports that Tech is one of 12 public universities currently campaigning to raise a 10-figure amount.

During the gala, Steger discussed five broad funding priorities he hopes to fulfill with the new campaign. They include academic excellence, undergraduate experience, research facilities, Virginia Tech and the community, and the President's discovery fund. While he hopes to fulfill each of these goals, the donors are the ones who actually control where the money is directed.

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