Florida State University is more than 60 percent to its goal of raising a billion dollars by the year 2018.
The effort started under former President Eric Barron and to date, FSU has raised $610 million. FSU Vice President of Advancement Tom Jennings says that was done over the past few years amid the Great Recession.
“We raised that $610 million under the context of the first few years when the economy and stock markets were struggling and they’ve come back, which has helped us," Jennings says. "We’ve also done it without a state matching gift program which was a part of the last two campaigns and provided about 15 percent of the dollars raised.”
FSU officials say they’re using the money to recruit new faculty and expand student services. The final fundraising push comes as FSU remains under scrutiny for the way its handled sexual assault allegations against its star football quarterback.
"A lot of the publicity we’re getting right now is about a few individuals at FSU. This campaign is about improving the student experience for all our students and we think that’s an important message to send no matter what else is going on," Jennings says.
