Rudenstine Letter Thanks Contributors

President Neil L. Rudenstine put his personal stamp on the University's staggeringly successful Capital Campaign again last week, sending thank-you letters to its 174,378 contributors.

The six-year campaign--the first University-wide effort--ended Dec. 31 and topped its original goal of $2.1 billion, netting $2.6 billion.

While the University did not meet individual goals in all areas--including endowed professorships in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences--the campaign remains the most successful fundraising effort by any university.

In the letter, Rudenstine said he saluted "all of you who have contributed to the effort for your unprecedented generosity."

Provost Harvey V. Fineberg '67 credited Rudenstine with much of the campaign's achievement.

"We...owe President Rudenstine an enormous debt of gratitude for his initiative and success in mounting the first-ever University-wide campaign at Harvard," Fineberg wrote in an e-mail message.

Known for his personal touch and willingness to call potential contributors himself, Rudenstine has expended an enormous amount of effort in the campaign since 1994. His fundraising abilities were a primary consideration in his selection as Harvard's president in 1991.

Another Rudenstine hallmark is an emphasis on interfaculty efforts, which some see as a byproduct of the campaign.

Frank White '66, deputy director of development communications in the University Development Office (UDO), said this emphasis has significantly benefited Harvard.

"Working together across the University was a major outcome of the campaign that was not financial but was important for the University," White said.

Fineberg also noted the collective energy that went into the drive.

"With the total exceeding $2.6 billion, there is ample credit to go around: to the professional staff who managed all the machinery of the campaign, to the deans who mobilized their Faculties and rallied their donors, to the alumni leaders of the Committee on University Resources and dozens of other Campaign committees, and to the thousands of incredibly generous benefactors of all parts of Harvard University," Fineberg wrote.

In May, the University will hold a campaign celebration, and the UDO will release a two-volume report on campaign results.

The UDO is currently working on post-campaign planning.

"We're beginning to talk with all the different faculties about what their needs are for the future," White said.

The campaign's effects can already be seen in some areas on campus. Campaign money has helped establish and support academic centers including the Hauser Center for the Study of Nonprofit Organizations, the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and the Carr Center for Human Rights. Campaign-funded renovations include Widener Library and the Barker Center.