Rutgers' Foundation Raises Record-Breaking $103 Million

New Brunswick, N.J. Fueled in part by a 42 percent jump in donations from individuals, Rutgers University received a record $103 million in private giving during the 2006-07 fiscal year up 31 percent from the fiscal year ending in June 2006. Nearly $60 million came in gifts of $500,000 or more.

For the first time in Rutgers history, private gift support has exceeded $100 million in a single year. Individuals, corporations and foundations throughout New Jersey and beyond are clearly demonstrating their collective commitment to provide quality education and an enriched college experience for our students, said Rutgers President Richard L. McCormick. The vast majority of these funds will be allocated toward enhancing our academic programs.

According to Carol P. Herring, president of the Rutgers University Foundation and vice president of development and alumni relations, there has been a groundswell of national support for the university. From individual donors to corporations, there have been overwhelming expressions of pride and passion for Rutgers. Our broad base of staunch supporters increased their giving for a wide range of academic initiatives, including the transformation of undergraduate education, Herring said.

The latest surge of goodwill is attributed to greater visibility of recent academic accomplishments. Some of the academic highlights include:

Anthropology Professor Robert Trivers received the 2007 Crafoord Price award biologys equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

English Professor Barry Qualls was named New Jersey Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.

Rutgers graduate program in philosophy tied with Oxford University for No. 2 in the English-speaking world by the Philosophical Gourmet Report, a ranking of philosophy departments based on the quality of their faculty, using opinion surveys of philosophers.

Private gift support also included more than $45 million from corporations and foundations, including Bank of America and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, while bequests from 80 estates totaled more than $25 million.

Contact: Nicole Pride

732-932-7084, Ext. 610

E-mail: npride@ur.rutgers.edu