CONCOURSE > PHILANTHROPY
Rising Star
Danville native Sarah Stephenson is a senior agriculture major at Auburn, a student leader...and a scholarship recipient.
CAMPAIGN IMPACTS STUDENTS, REPUTATION WITH A GOAL to raise $1 billion in support, Because This is Auburn—A Campaign for Auburn University is inspiring heightened levels of philanthropic support from thousands of alumni and friends. In addition to shaping Auburn’s future, gifts ranging in size and scope are making an immediate impact on students’ experiences and the university’s reputation. More than 74,500 campaign gifts and commitments are increasing the availability of student scholarships and faculty professorships, building academic programs that equip students for their chosen careers, and maintaining and creating facilities. Since the campaign’s public launch A-Day weekend, online gifts supporting a wide variety of university priorities have averaged $185. That level of support will have ripple effects as Auburn seeks to increase its alumni participation rate. Currently at 12 percent—higher than the national average for public institutions but among the lowest in the Southeastern Conference—Auburn’s alumni participation rate factors as much into the university’s national rankings by U.S. News & World Report and Forbes as it does in the campaign’s success. Because This is Auburn is the university’s largest comprehensive campaign in school history. Campaign priorities focus on propelling the university forward through a renewed commitment to students, a continued promise to the state of Alabama, and a shared responsibility to the world.
“The more involved I became, the more my worldview changed.”
On Friday, Sept. 11, the Auburn University Foundation will honor more than 270 new members of the 1856 Society at its biennial dinner and recognition ceremony. Named for the year in which the East Alabama Male College, now Auburn University, was established, the 1856 Society recognizes donors whose cumulative contributions and irrevocable planned gifts to Auburn and Auburn Montgomery reach or exceed $100,000. Four circles within the society provide additional recognition opportunities. To date, the 1856 Society includes nearly 2,000 society members and organizational donors. auburn.edu/1856
$798 MILLION
79.8% of the $1 billion goal as of July 31, 2015
LEARN MORE, TAKE ACTION & GIVE ONLINE For campaign information, news, and resources, visit because.auburn.edu
FALL 2015
Auburn Magazine
19