PROMISE KEPT
How UCR’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign exceeded expectations, and what lies ahead.
By University Communications
CLICK HERE TO WATCH UCR students, staff, and faculty express their deep appreciation to all donors and alumni who contributed to the success of the $300 million Living the Promise campaign.
Living the Promise: The Campaign for UC Riverside publicly launched in 2016 and concluded at the end of 2020 having raised nearly $313 million. The generosity of the university’s donors has helped students receive financial aid, supported faculty research and creative activities, built new infrastructure around campus, and launched new university programs. Cumulatively, these impacts went a long way toward boosting UC Riverside’s profile, rocketing the university up several major rankings, including U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 lists, which named UCR the No.1 university in the United States for social mobility and the No. 34 public university overall.
“This is a critical milestone for UCR, especially for a first campaign with an ambitious target,” Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox said. “The success of Living the Promise will be manifest in the experience of UCR’s students and in the excellence of UCR’s research.”
Peter Hayashida, UCR’s vice chancellor for University Advancement, expressed gratitude for the more than 66,000 donors who gave during the campaign.
“We’ve reconnected previous supporters and engaged many new donors to fund the university’s mission during the campaign,” he said. “The visionary aspirations of academic leaders and unflagging support from UCR Foundation trustees and other key volunteers brought us to this remarkable moment in our fairly short history.”
CLICK HERE TO WATCH
UCR philanthropists discuss the power of philanthropy and their reasons for supporting America’s fastest rising university.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH Scots on the Rocks. Discover fun facts about UCR’s world-renowned citrus research while learning to craft the perfect cocktail — in this case, the Scots on the Rocks.
The stories in this issue of UCR Magazine explore the many ways Living the Promise has made an impact across campus and beyond, highlighting the campaign’s themes: From Genomics to Harvest, Emerging Technologies, Health and Wellness, Renewable Nature, Social Innovation and Empowerment, New Voices and Visions, Student Success, and Research Support. While Living the Promise may have come to an end, the job of ensuring UCR can build on its accomplishments and enjoy an even brighter future remains vital. Private fundraising has become essential for public universities, which once were funded largely by taxpayers. State support for University of California campuses dropped from 84% in 1990 to 42% at the beginning of 2020 — before the pandemic’s unprecedented strain on state revenues. A budget shortfall of $46 million is expected this year, with a larger reduction next year.
“Reaching our campaign dollar goal is an achievement of which we’re very proud,” said Marie Schultz ’98, associate vice chancellor for development. “But we realize that the acute need for private donations lies ahead; perhaps more so than at any other time in the 66-year history of UCR.”
But for now, dive in and enjoy learning about some of the exciting ways philanthropy has inspired UCR’s community of scholars throughout the campaign.
You can also watch all the programming from our campaign celebration weekend below:
