It Took a Team
Who better than engineers to know that teamwork is key to successful problem solving? There’s no better demonstration of teamwork than the way alumni, donors, parents, faculty, staff and friends of Vanderbilt University worked together to achieve ambitious goals for the recent Shape the Future campaign. The campaign, which launched in 2003, has concluded and we’re honored and proud to announce that Vanderbilt—and the School of Engineering—successfully raised more than $1.9 billion in a historic initiative focused on investing in people, primarily through scholarships and endowed faculty chairs.
What a Remarkable Achievement—and We Thank You
Thank you from the engineering students who will receive scholarships, allowing them to attend one of the nation’s top research universities and graduate without crushing student debt.
Thank you from the outstanding professors who will use endowed chairs to fund vital research, support teams of brilliant graduate students assisting in new findings, and equip labs with specialized equipment needed to seek new solutions.
Thank you from the faculty and staff who come to work each day energized by the prospect of transferring knowledge and furthering discoveries.
Thank you from parents and grandparents, whose bright young engineering students will thrive in pursuit of knowledge.
Thank you from the administration, those dedicated to being good stewards of the financial contributions entrusted to them for today’s and future generations.
That fiscal stewardship involves continuing to build scholarship funds for Vanderbilt’s need-based undergraduate scholarship endowment, Opportunity Vanderbilt. While we achieved Opportunity Vanderbilt’s initial endowment goals, more funding is needed to sustain expanded aid and ensure tomorrow’s talented students can choose Vanderbilt.
Need for Scholarship Funds Continues
Currently, more than 61 percent of undergraduates receive financial aid, so it is vital that the scholarship endowment continues to increase. For the 2011-12 year, Vanderbilt has set a goal of raising $20 million in funds for the Opportunity Vanderbilt scholarship initiative. With your support and the support of others committed to assuring that young engineers succeed, the School of Engineering will help meet that goal and continue shaping the future of engineering at Vanderbilt and in society.
