The Board of Visitors’ Advancement Committee discussed fundraising progress, including a $20 million grant to the School of Data Science which was announced by University President Jim Ryan at their Thursday meeting. The Committee also heard about efforts to strengthen relationships with corporate partners by growing the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations, which aims to generate financial support for the University through relationships with corporations.
The Committee is responsible for overseeing the University’s fundraising efforts and alumni affairs, including outreach events and capital campaigns. Moreover, the Committee manages a wide variety of funds and campaigns meant to support different institutions and initiatives at the University.
The $20 million grant to the School of Data Science, announced by Ryan at the meeting, was provided by the Quantitative Foundation — a Charlottesville-based private foundation led by Jaffray Woodriff, trustee and class of ‘91 alumnus. According to Ryan, the grant will help the University construct a new building next to the current Data Science building on the Emmett-Ivy Corridor, providing new spaces for classrooms.
Ryan also said that he hopes the grant will provide funding for students to pursue entrepreneurial initiatives by translating research and discoveries into new products and startups. This new funding comes alongside an initial $120 million grant by the Foundation in 2019 to establish the School of Data Science.
“The $20 million grant will be augmented by significant funds that were previously granted to the School of Data Science by the Quantitative Foundation that we were able to preserve and grow during the construction of the current data science building,” Ryan said.
William Foshay, executive director of the Quantitative Foundation, spoke on behalf of Woodriff at the meeting, emphasizing the Foundation’s satisfaction with the work the University has done on the Emmett-Ivy Corridor, which includes the newly finished School of Data Science and several other buildings.
“Finding a philanthropic partner to take a big swing with has everything to do with the belief that your partner can deliver.” Foshay said. “The fact that we are here today talking about expansion so soon after the founding grant tells you everything you need to know about how Jaffrey feels the University has delivered.”
Vice President for Advancement Mark Luellen also gave an update on general University fundraising at the meeting. Since 2019, the Committee has overseen the Honor the Future campaign, a fundraising effort formed to support Ryan’s 2030 Plan initiatives. According to Luellen, the University surpassed their $5 billion goal Jan. 2024 and, as of their meeting Dec. 5, totals stood at $5.52 billion.
“We have a few months left until the end of the campaign, but things are looking very promising across all the units … we're at 110 percent of our goals,” Luellen said.
This funding has and will continue to support the entire University. Funds are allocated to every undergraduate and graduate school at the University, and have contributed to the construction of several new buildings on Grounds, including the School of Data Science, Contemplative Sciences Center and the Shannon Library renovations.
Although not originally listed in the meeting agenda, Heather Engel, associate vice president of gift planning and corporate and foundation relations, announced the hiring of Kelly Ard as the new assistant vice president of corporate and foundation relations. In this position, Ard will lead the University’s Corporate and Foundation Relations team in forming partnerships with corporations and increasing fundraising efforts. Ard, a former Auburn University fundraising official, said that she plans to significantly strengthen the relationships between the University and its corporate partners.
“We are excited to cultivate a culture of readiness to respond, serve and drive industry partnerships across U.Va.” Ard said. “We believe we are only scratching the surface in this space [and] can [work to] maximize corporate investments, strengthen and deepen existing relationships, and position U.Va. as a go-to resource [for corporations].”
Ard said the University is succeeding in the intense and targeted efforts it has undertaken to increase its presence among leaders in the business and philanthropic worlds including attracting increasing research grant money — she noted that in the 2024 fiscal year the Corporate and Foundation Relations team received more than $41 million in direct asks and 34 grants. This support contributed to a total of $124 million in foundation gifts to the University.
However, Ard also outlined how different schools and departments across Grounds can benefit greatly from stronger corporate and foundational relationships. These relationships will provide students with greater exposure to different fields — Ard said that corporate partners support a wide variety of student and faculty research, fund scholarships and collaborate with the University to form recruiting pipelines and connections with students. Ard also noted that the strong foundational relationships which her team works to form can help increase support for research initiatives.
Board member Paul Manning recommended that Ard make student and faculty research more accessible to possible corporate partners.
“I think that there's so much research, there's so much technology that's harnessed inside of U.Va. that's not being exploited.” Manning said. “If there's some way that you could reach into the research areas and find out what's there, then you'll have a menu of products to actually go to the industry with.”
The Advancement Committee will reconvene when the Board of Visitors meets again in March.
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