The Expanded Columbia Campaign: $5 Billion by December 2013

“In many different ways, viewed from many different vantage points, this is indeed Columbia’s moment. For anyone who cares about creating new knowledge and conveying the knowledge we have to the next generation, as well as being engaged in the seemingly endless challenges facing our global society, there is no better place to be than here at Columbia … I hope that wherever your own life’s journey takes you, you will continue to be a part of this institution and continue to support its valuable mission.” 

— President Lee C. Bollinger, December 2010

In December 2010, approximately four years after launching the $4 billion Columbia Campaign, Columbia University raised its fundraising goal to $5 billion. As of June 30, 2011, alumni and friends had made new gifts and pledges totaling more than $4.3 billion overall.

Since the Campaign began in September 2006, fundraising efforts have focused on the University’s core academic and research areas. All told, Columbia has raised more than $1.6 billion in new endowment, nearly $2 billion for operating support, and about $620 million for new and improved facilities, with participation from more than 160,000 Columbia alumni, parents, and friends. (All figures through June 2010.)

The expanded Campaign will add support for new and existing initiatives and program areas throughout the University, including:

• enhanced financial aid, including nearly $100 million for Columbia College and $43 million for Columbia Engineering;
• more than $100 million in faculty support, including major initiatives at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, at Columbia Law School, and in support of assistant professorships in the College’s Core Curriculum;
• more than $300 million for the construction of new facilities at Columbia University Medical Center, Baker Athletics Complex, and the new Manhattanville campus — future site for state-of-the-art buildings for Columbia Business School, the School of the Arts, and the School of International and Public Affairs; and
• programming that reflects Columbia’s global reach and leadership.