Tulane University Celebrates Another Record-Breaking Fundraising Year

NEW ORLEANS – Tulane University has posted another year of record-breaking fundraising, bringing in more than $150 million and exceeding last year’s previous all-time high by almost $25 million. 

A record 25,000 alumni, parents and friends, including close to 6,000 first-time donors, contributed to Tulane in the 2017-18 fiscal year, spurred on by the December launch of Only the Audacious, the most ambitious fundraising campaign in Tulane’s history.

The $1.3 billion campaign is building on the university's tremendous momentum. It is aimed at pursuing even greater academic excellence: expanding the university’s pioneering research; increasing scholarships and financial aid to attract the best students from across the globe; and building a student experience that emphasizes innovation, firsthand research experiences and learning through civic engagement.

“I am proud and grateful that so many individuals from around the country and world have recognized Tulane's unique strengths and service to the local and global community by committing to this campaign. Their dedicated support is responsible for our remarkable progress in furthering lifesaving research, groundbreaking scholarship, innovative education and exceptional community service,” Tulane President Mike Fitts says. “The success of our campaign will not only help transform our students' lives but improve the human condition by addressing some of its most pressing challenges.”

The newly committed funds came from numerous sources, including the university’s first-ever day of giving, Give Green, which raised nearly a half million dollars in 24 hours.

The year’s record-breaking fundraising total also included large gifts such as $25 million from the family of Dr. John Winton Deming to name the John W. Deming Department of Medicine; a $10 million gift from Tulane alumni Steven and Jann Paul to build the Steven and Jann Paul Hall for Science and Engineering, and an anonymous lead gift, along with generous donations from several others, to begin construction on The Commons, the largest Tulane construction project since Yulman Stadium.

When it opens in 2019, the three-story, $55 million, 77,000-square-foot building will offer a new gathering space for the entire Tulane community, housing a new dining hall, multipurpose meeting spaces, and a permanent home for the Newcomb College Institute.

Featured

  • Colorado School District Breaks Ground on Unified PK–12 Campus

    The Haxtun School District No. Re-2J in Haxtun, Colo., recently announced that ground has been broken on a renovation/addition project that will unite its two schools, Haxtun Elementary and Haxtun Jr/Sr High School, according to a news release.

  • Deferred Maintenance Issues Growing at Universities, Gordian Reports

    U.S. colleges and universities are falling increasingly behind on facilities maintenance and repair, according to Gordian’s 13th annual State of Facilities in Higher Education report. The deferred capital renewal burden has reached $156 per gross square foot, an 8% increase over the previous year.

  • Universities Continue to Launch Multimillion-Dollar Campus Transformations

    What makes the current wave of campus development especially noteworthy is its emphasis on multi-use functionality and community integration. Institutions are no longer investing solely in academic or athletic facilities in isolation. Instead, they are creating destinations that blend recreation, health, housing, and event-driven economic activity.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.