SDSU launches $500 million comprehensive campaign
“This is a day that is essentially five years in the making … ” With those words on Oct. 21, Rita Edwards ’81, the current chair of the SDSU Foundation’s council of trustees, ushered the university into the public phase of the largest and most ambitious philanthropic campaign in state history. Bold & Blue will raise $500 million over a seven-year period.
The campaign’s roots trace to July 2016, only two months into Barry Dunn’s tenure as president. Jan. 1, 2017, was the date chosen to begin counting gifts for the campaign. In subsequent months, the university developed a case statement of the top priorities, and a campaign leadership structure was recruited.
Before a standing room-only crowd in Club 71 at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium and 600 watching via livestream, Edwards said, “For a university that is now in its 141st year, five years may not seem that significant. However, the announcement we have to share today is definitely bold.”
The day was capped off by Forever Blue: Twilight at the Campanile, an event that drew 3,000 people to the Coughlin Campanile and Alumni Green on a cool October night. The SDSU Drumline and Concert Choir performed as videos were projected onto the 165-foot-tall campus icon. “Incredible, outstanding and fiercely motivating,” summed up one Jackrabbit in attendance.
Bold & Blue is a people-centered campaign that will position SDSU as a premier land-grant university, recognized for high value, innovation and undeniable impact. The campaign will further establish SDSU as a leader in scholarly pursuits and a top-tier destination for building cutting-edge careers that are signature to the university.
More than $340 million was raised during the leadership phase leading up to the public announcement. It is standard practice to get commitments for at least 60% of the overall goal before going public.
Jerry Lohr, a 1958 graduate and founder of J. Lohr Vineyards and Wines, is the honorary chair. He is joined by co-chairs Kim Tyler ’82, a retired executive with Kellogg Company, and Dana Dykhouse ’79, CEO of First PREMIER Bank. Keith Rounds ’77 and Cathy VanderWal-Rounds ’77 are chairs of the Sylvan Circle, SDSU’s legacy society. About one-third of the campaign total could come from estate plans.
SDSU has also recruited a 14-member business and industry cabinet, comprised of the state’s largest and most identifiable employers, and a 12-member campaign cabinet of individuals and couples.
SDSU’s last campaign, It Starts with STATE, raised $255 million in six years and four months (January 2007 to April 2013).
“This place is special. It shapes you and leaves an indelible imprint on you. The people and the places here were transformational to me,”
President Dunn told the crowd at the campaign launch.
“That same spirit that propelled me and tens of thousands of others still exists. Yet, what has gotten noticeably stronger since my time as a student is the philanthropic mindset of our alumni, friends and business partners … Philanthropy provides the margin of excellence.”
