About the College Foundation

The College Foundation exists to further the purposes and aspirations of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Virginia. The Foundation fulfills this mission by advising and supporting the Dean, raising funds for the school and by attracting private investment in the University's core undergraduate and graduate programs.

The College Foundation receives and manages Annual Fund gifts for the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and transfers the funds to the dean to be applied where they are needed most. The Foundation also receives and invests private endowment and capital gifts for the maximum benefit of the College and Graduate School.

The Foundation's trustees serve on various committees, including academic affairs, audit, buildings and grounds, development, finance and investment, and the leadership (executive) committee. Some have served on a task force to analyze the College's budgeting process; others have participated on search committees for senior administrative positions in the College; many have hosted events that bring the dean in contact with alumni around the country.

Beginnings

More than two decades ago, twenty-one alumni of the College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences decided it was time to organize. “We had been gathering informally at Alumni Hall after football games for years, but there was no link between those parties and what was happening in the College at the time,” explains Betty Cauthen (M.A. ’55), a retired teacher and widow of former College Dean Irby Cauthen. “We wanted to establish an organization that would involve alumni in the College and educate them about its current strengths and needs.”

The Predecessor: Alumni Council of Arts & Sciences

With support from former U.Va. President Frank Hereford, the three College deans, and representatives of the University’s development and career planning offices, the Alumni Council of Arts & Sciences was launched in October 1981. Alumni participated in four committees: alumni affairs, careers, communications and development.

The Alumni Council’s agenda — a mixture of social and academic programming and fund-raising activities — enjoyed considerable success for years, keeping hundreds of alumni involved in their alma mater. Members of the Arts & Sciences Council in the early 1990s, led by then president George C. Seward (College ’33, Law ’36), were among the first to recognize the advantages of creating an Arts & Sciences foundation. Mr. Seward and the A&S Council leadership drew up the necessary papers to establish a foundation in 1992, but the A&S Council ultimately decided that such a foundation was not yet needed.

Founding

As the University concluded its successful $1 billion campaign in 2000, a few prescient College alumni began to look ahead. Christine P. Gustafson (International Business and Finance ’82) was one of them. “We had helped the College surpass its campaign goal, but there were many funding priorities still unmet. We saw the need for a formal fundraising entity — a nonprofit foundation — to which donors could give with confidence, certain their money would go where they wanted it.”

With a major source of private funds in place, the College could take a seat at the University’s planning table and chart its own course for the future. Gustafson, along with fellow alumni John L. Nau III (History ’68) and Alan Y. Roberts (English ’64), obtained approval for and ultimately established the College Foundation of the University of Virginia at a festive ceremony on April 20, 2001. Roberts and Gustafson co-wrote the foundation’s bylaws and served as the first two presidents; many members of the Alumni Council became trustees.

Successes

More than seven years later, the College Foundation has raised over $130 million for the benefit of Arts & Sciences and is thriving.

The trustees embrace an ambitious fundraising agenda. They work closely with the dean to identify programmatic needs ranging from endowed chairs and fellowships to scholarships and research funds. The Foundation trustees also work closely with the University’s Board of Visitors on the South Lawn Project, the most ambitious undertaking on the University's central Grounds in nearly a century and the College's highest priority. As part of their commitment to helping raise $61 million for the first phase of the project many trustees have made leadership gifts to the initiative.

Alan Roberts looks back on a job well done. As Foundation President from 2001-2003, Roberts was instrumental in advancing College initiatives during the Foundation’s early years. In meetings with the BOV and top University administration, Roberts successfully argued the case for repairs and new construction of College buildings and was crucial in the major revitalization of the College. Said Roberts, “I believe the Foundation Trustees did a great job in supporting Dean Leffler and Dean Ayers in their major initiatives for The College. Those two Deans, the early Trustees, Gustafson, Nau and I worked very hard as advocates to improve The University's largest school."

John Nau, College Foundation President from 2003-2006, believes that the best is yet to come. “The College Foundation builds on the strength of nearly a quarter century of work by volunteers, faculty, and staff, who, along with current Foundation Board members, believe that the heart of the University must be renewed and strengthened,” said Nau. “The University’s future success will be based in large part on the College’s success."

Jeff Nuechterlein (Government and Foreign Affairs ’79, Law ’86), notes that the College Foundation was instrumental in meeting fundraising goals for the South Lawn Project, a priority during his term as College Foundation President from 2006-2008. “This critically important initiative will provide state-of-the-art facilities, improve the faculty-student ratio, strengthen the sense of community and generally enhance the College's sterling reputation,” said Nuechterlein.

Current Foundation President John B. “Jay” Morse, Jr. (History ’68) reiterates that the Foundation makes a real difference and envisions a bright future for the College. “Thanks in part to leadership gifts from College Foundation trustees and emeritus trustees and many other College alums and the funding commitment from the Commonwealth of Virginia to renovate New Cabell Hall, we are closing in on our goal for the bricks and mortar portion of the Campaign for the College. We are now ready to move forward into the next phase, funding the programs and people that will fill these buildings. With the recent appointment of Meredith Woo as Dean and the continued support of alumni, we have every expectation of success.”