The October completion of major development of the first phase of UCSF's Mission Bay campus is one of the most visible results of the University's recent, overwhelmingly successful fundraising campaign.
The seven-year Campaign for UCSF - a remarkable effort that netted more than $1.6 billion for health-related research, education, patient care, community outreach and capital projects -concluded on June 30. Launched in 1998, the campaign identified funding priorities with the greatest potential for shaping the health sciences in the 21st century. The results of the campaign exceeded expectations, as generous donors from the Bay Area and beyond responded with $265 million more than the dollar goal of $1.4 billion.
Campaign volunteers were led by national campaign Chair Andrew S. Grove; campaign co-chairs Barbara Bass Bakar, Brook Byers, Arthur H. Kern and William E. Oberndorf; and campaign chair emeritus A.W. "Tom" Clausen. Over the course of the campaign, more than 77,000 alumni, faculty, community members and friends - including 222 donors of $1 million or more - showed their support of UCSF by establishing scholarships, funding endowed chairs and distinguished professorships, supporting scientific research initiatives and contributing to the construction of the Mission Bay campus.
The largest fundraising effort in UCSF's 141-year history, the Campaign for UCSF was also the largest campaign in the United States dedicated exclusively to saving lives and improving human health. During fiscal year 2004-2005 alone, a record 32,400 donors gave $286,750,142 in gifts and pledges to UCSF, pushing the final campaign tally to $1,665,141,407.
The success of the campaign strengthens the future of one of San Francisco's finest health sciences institutions, with major campuses at Parnassus Heights and Mission Bay and additional research and clinical sites throughout San Francisco, including UCSF Medical Center at Mount Zion, San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center, San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Laurel Heights.
State funding contributes only 9 percent of UCSF's annual operating budget, and although 18 percent comes from competitively awarded extramural research grants, organizations like the National Institutes of Health impose strict limitations on the types of research eligible for such support. Typically, only projects that have matured to the point of "publishable findings"- results repeated and verified over time - are able to win such funding. The implications for innovation at UCSF are obvious. Some of the most creative and promising, but as yet untested, ideas remain unfunded. Because these ideas are often lead to breakthroughs, donors provide the resources to ensure that UCSF remains at the forefront of science and health in the coming century.
Funds raised during the Campaign for UCSF are enabling the institution's highly regarded physician scientists, research scientists, caregivers and educators to continue to define health care in the Bay Area and around the world. "Breakthroughs" have already been made at UCSF in understanding and treating such diseases as SARS, cancer, diabetes and AIDS. "Breakthroughs in waiting" are possible for medical conditions ranging from heart disorders and parasitic diseases to neurological disorders and spinal cord injury.
In addition, the Campaign for UCSF has played a critical role in fueling construction of the first phase of UCSF's Mission Bay campus. During the mid 90s, UCSF realized the need to alleviate congestion at existing sites, consolidate some of its satellite operations and provide room for growth. The 43-acre campus in a formerly neglected part of San Francisco was envisioned as the centerpiece of UCSF's strategy to achieve these goals.
As the largest urban development effort in the city since the building of Golden Gate Park, UCSF Mission Bay is fast becoming a world-class center for biomedical research and education. Since ground was broken in 1999, three state-of-the-art research facilities, a campus housing complex and a community center have opened. Already, 1,700 faculty, scholars, students and staff work, study, live, and play on the campus. At full build-out-some 15 years in the future-UCSF Mission Bay will have doubled the amount of research and teaching space available to the institution's faculty and students.
"The impact of the Campaign for UCSF goes beyond what we can dream," said Bruce Spaulding, Vice Chancellor for University Advancement and Planning. "In the future we will all benefit from the ideas, innovations and discoveries that these donations will make possible. We are deeply grateful to everyone who supported this incredible effort."
For more information about the Campaign for UCSF or about giving to UCSF, please contact
Maryann Aberg, (415/502-8832,) or visit the
website.
Source: UCSF Foundation
