"When we launched this campaign in November 1996, it was, at that time, the largest ever undertaken by a liberal arts college," said Chief Advancement Officer Michael Kiefer.
Kiefer also noted that Williams College, which concluded a campaign raising around $170 million in the early 1990s, "just hired a new president and is in the process of gearing up for a new effort . . . We are certain that it will be at least one dollar more than we raised and probably more."
"Swarthmore [College] has traditionally put greater emphasis on the careful management of their endowment than fundraising," said Kiefer, comparing Amherst's fundraising to similar institutions.
According to Kiefer, a few substantial gifts "punctuated the beginning and end of the campaign." An anonymous donor contributed a $25 million challenge at the campaign's inception. A $15 million bequest from two brothers and alumni of Amherst as well as an anonymous gift of $7.5 million came at the end of the campaign. The trustees of Amherst contributed more than $45 million throughout the campaign.
Kiefer also emphasized the importance of general alumni support of the campaign. "Eighty to 90 percent of Amherst's alumni were in on this in a big way," he said. "It is about the cohesiveness and spirit of this," he said adding that Amherst has the "highest alumni participation in giving of any college or university in the world."
"This campaign, the largest in Amherst's history, was a real test of the loyalty and commitment of our graduates an opportunity, perhaps not seen since Amherst's founding, to profoundly influence the type of education that Amherst provides," said President Tom Gerety in a recent press release. "That our alumni, parents and friends responded in the way that they did is great evidence of their commitment to the type of teaching and learning that occurs here."
The campaign co-chairs were trustees Axel Schupf '57 and Chuck Lewis '64. "Their unfailing energy and their personal generosity have inspired countless others-volunteers and donors-to do their best for Amherst," Gerety said.
Some of the projects and goals that the campaign have and will make possible are more than 15 endowed professor chairs, more funding for faculty and student research, library acquisitions, endowed scholarships for U.S and international students, funding of student internships, the creation of the Life Sciences building and the Experimental Theater, and the renovation of 10 other facilities, including Fayerweather Hall, Alumni Gym and Newport House. "The College is in excellent financial shape, and we have addressed, through the campaign, many important priorities," said Kiefer.
"Probably in four or five years Amherst will begin to plan for another campaign," said Kiefer. He added that the president and trustees have already announced that they will be undertaking some institution-wide planning. "As those ambitions are defined, costs will be set," he said.