Three years into BYU’s six-year Lighting the Way capital campaign, BYU President Merrill J. Bateman has announced that the university has received $217 million in commitments, nearly 90 percent of the total campaign goal.
“That is a remarkable achievement, and one for which we are grateful. But there is more to do,” he told supporters at the annual president’s dinner in March. Especially remarkable is the fact that the campaign has only been in the public phase for one year.
Of the $217 million, $139 million has been collected and the other $78 million has been committed to but not yet received. The campaign’s objective is to raise $250 million by the year 2000. BYU will exceed that target, the president predicted.
The campaign has three goals: teach more students, enhance educational quality, and extend BYU’s influence around the world. Some goals, such as student scholarships, are magnets for funding, President Bateman said. The university has received $22 million of its $24 million goal for student financial aid.
“We are not going to stop at $24 million,” he said. “We have an obligation to provide financial aid for as many students as need help.”
President Bateman added, however, that a real need is for unrestricted donations that allow the university to strengthen priority areas that are not natural donation magnets. Goals that still need funding include the newly dedicated Howard W. Hunter Law Library and the addition to the Harold B. Lee Library, he said.
For more information about BYU’s capital campaign, see the coverage in our June 1996 issue or the capital campaign home page.