On September 23, Penn President Amy Gutmann announced in a letter to the Penn community that the University had met its overall goal for the “Making History” capital campaign.
“With 15 months still to go,” she wrote, “this week we reached the $3.5 billion mark. This accomplishment is a testament to the generosity, loyalty and enthusiasm of our alumni, volunteers, friends and supporters, and demonstrates what is possible when Penn people come together around the common goal of making history and making Penn the best.”
Gutmann noted that the University also set all-time participation records for Alumni Weekend and Homecoming—in line with the non-financial, alumni-engagement goals of the campaign.
For the remainder of the campaign, the focus will shift to some of the goals that have not yet been met—chief among them the $350 million target for undergraduate financial aid (whose current total stands at 81 percent of that figure), and the $323 million goal for graduate and professional-student aid (76 percent fulfilled).
“Additional work is necessary,” Gutmann wrote, but “[t]hat so many generous donors would step forward during such a challenging economic time speaks volumes about the quality of our University and the potential that we all have to influence the future for the better.”
“To all who have helped us reach this milestone,” she added, “I offer my most sincere and heartfelt thanks.”
