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I remember the day well. The UNI Foundation Board met on campus in April of 2000 to determine the components and size of the university’s next fundraising campaign.

The meeting was held on the stage of the Gallagher-Bluedorn Performing Arts Center, which was dedicated earlier that month. The facility was the cornerstone project of the university’s “Leading Building Sharing” campaign, and we were just beginning to realize how it would transform the university and northeast Iowa.

To assist in our campaign planning, we’d hired a consultant to help determine the level of support we might expect from our alumni and friends. The consultant said at our meeting that we might be able to raise $50 million if we waited a year or two while we prepared and planned.

The Board members thanked the consultant, promptly set the goal for $75 million and decided to begin immediately! Having discussed the incredible support for the previous campaign, they instinctively knew that our alumni and friends would get behind our efforts to assist future generations of UNI students. They decided the largest component of the new campaign would be student scholarships, along with support for our faculty and academic programs.

The Board wanted to partner with the university to enhance building projects for which we had received or were scheduled to receive support from the State: Lang Hall (the former Old Aud), McCollum Science Hall and Russell Hall, home of our School of Music. Board members also wanted to create a national center where our College of Education could demonstrate best practices in early elementary education.

Moreover, the Board included a goal for construction of the Human Performance Center—an addition to the wellness center built in partnership with the local medical community and our School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services.

The facility cornerstone of this campaign would be a multipurpose sports arena, but we needed a hero to provide the lead gift to get the project started. For the next two years, the Foundation Board and its staff, assisted by the National Campaign Steering Committee and a group of dedicated volunteers, moved the campaign forward. We found our heroes: Clark and Mary McLeod of Cedar Rapids and, later, Betty McCoy of Waterloo, stepped forward to provide the lead gifts to the arena.

In October 2002, the “Students First” campaign was formally introduced. Already an incredible $70 million had been raised. During the campaign kickoff, we announced a new goal of $100 million.

Where do we stand today? Our “Students First” campaign has eclipsed the $100 million mark with six months remaining—powerful testimony to the pride and affection our graduates and friends have for the University of Northern Iowa.

What has been achieved?

• More than $31 million has been raised for student scholarships, with an additional $36 million to support our faculty and academic programs.

• The McCollum Science Hall addition is completed, and classrooms are equipped with technologies to enhance students’ learning experiences.

• McElroy Hall’s Freeburg Early Childhood Center is demonstrating best practices for early elementary education to international acclaim.

• Private support for the Russell Hall addition moved the legislature to approve an additional $7.9 million for renovation of the home to our outstanding School of Music.

This winter we will seek Board of Regents, State of Iowa approval to begin construction on the Human Performance Center addition, and just south of the UNI-Dome there is a very big hole where workers have begun construction of the McLeod Center—see it via the webcam at www. http://www.vpaf.uni.edu/facplan/Content/McLeod/Current/webcam-live.asp. This has all been achieved because our graduates and friends have made an extraordinary investment in the future of UNI, its students, faculty and staff.

Even as our Students First campaign winds down, we have begun to work with university leaders to discuss the future. Since 2000 when the campaign began, the university has been impacted by more than $21 million in budget cuts from state support. In the past four years tuition has increased by more than 72 percent, raising the average debt of graduating students to about $22,000. Consequently, the discussions we are having with our campus community are different than those five years ago.

Recently, the UNI Foundation Board held a retreat during which President Robert Koob concisely identified what UNI does well and what makes it one of the best universities in the nation: The University of Northern Iowa offers a world class education providing personalized experiences and creating a lifetime of opportunities.

He then posed the following questions: What can we do to ensure the university will always provide its students with a world class education? How can we continue to provide our students with personalized experiences in and out of the classroom? How can we enable students to take advantage of all the opportunities available while they are on campus and once they graduate?

As we sought answers, we came to realize that to provide these opportunities we must enhance our financial security. The best way to ensure this is to significantly grow the endowment of the UNI Foundation.

Many of you know how an endowment works. When you provide a gift to the UNI Foundation, a portion of the income generated from the gift is used to meet your wishes. Thus, a gift directed to an endowment fund provides a perpetual source of support. Endowed scholarships provide assistance to students. Endowed chairs and professorships help us to attract and retain faculty. Endowed lectureships enable our students to hear outstanding leaders from all over the world. The list of such opportunities is extensive.

Currently, the UNI Foundation endowment stands at approximately $40 million. For us to create opportunities for our students, the UNI Foundation Board is committed to increasing the endowment to $100 million by 2010. Is this an easy task? Certainly not. Is it a necessity for the university? Absolutely. Can it be done? Without question.

Perhaps the one thing that has most impressed me over the years after talking with our alumni and friends is the incredible affection they feel for this campus, whether they knew it as Iowa State Teachers College, State College of Iowa or the University of Northern Iowa. Our alumni want to provide the same opportunities for future generations of students that they received when they were in school.

Private support plays a critical role in making sure that UNI is able to deliver on the promise to its students now and into the future. We are inspired by the support we continue to receive from alumni and friends and know you will be here for us as we encounter new opportunities. We thank you for all that you have done to get us to where we are today, but I promise you, the best is yet to come.

William D. Calhoun, Jr., M.A. ’79, is vice president for university advanccement and president of the UNI Foundation.