NEW YORK March 18, 2005 A select group of foreign university leaders will convene at New York University, from March 18th 20th, to discuss fundraising techniques and strategies.
Hosted by NYU’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, the conference responds to the growing need of academic leaders worldwide to support their home institutions with private philanthropy in the face of dwindling government funding. College presidents, rectors, and chief operating officers representing 17 institutions including Ireland’s Trinity College, Canada’s Ryerson University, South Korea’s Sookmyung Women’s University, Charles University in Czechoslovakia, and the Universities of Aberdeen and Nottingham are expected to attend. (See attached roster)
The 2005 Global Conference on Philanthropy and Fundraising in Higher Education is based on the 250-year American tradition of private support for higher education. In 2004, Americans contributed more than $24 billion over and above government funding to support their college and universities. Responding to the effectiveness of American fund-raising, the 2004 Thomas Report of the Department of Higher Education of Great Britain recommended that leaders of higher education in Great Britain consider a “study visit to U.S. institutions to see at first hand how institutional practice (in the U.S.) can transform levels of funds raised.” According to Duncan Rice, Rector and Vice Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, former Dean of Arts and Sciences at NYU, and a co-convener of the three-day event:
“American universities have long been accustomed to harnessing private finance as a means of transforming their competitive position. Universities across Europe, on the other hand, have generally speaking focused more on their relationship with the State for their principal income stream. In recent years, however, it has been increasingly recognized by both universities and Governments across Europe that the challenge of being internationally competitive cannot be addressed without also embracing private fundraising.”
The conference will be led Naomi Levine, Heyman Center executive director and former NYU senior vice president of development; the University’s current president, John Sexton; and NYU past presidents L. Jay Oliva and John Brademas. Together, these leaders helped propel NYU into the top tier of American universities through unparalleled fundraising efforts that directed over $2.5 billion to build the University’s faculty, research capabilities and campus facilities.
“While my main concern as president of NYU was for academic affairs, I recognized that fundraising was essential for the success of our academic priorities,” said Dr. Oliva. “In earlier international conferences at NYU, I was honored to meet with presidents of foreign universities to focus on academic matters, and have always believed that fundraising should also be paramount on the global higher education agenda.”
According to Levine, “As technology creates an increasingly complex and interconnected world, people everywhere are more aware of the need for higher education to help them and their children succeed in the 21st century. Private support for education to supplement traditional government funding is now a widely accepted way of assuring excellent education. We look forward to sharing our own experiences with educational leaders from other nations. and to learn from them about how we can help each other maximize our efforts to achieve the goal of educational excellence worldwide.”
Scheduled sessions, taught by American fundraising experts, include: principles and concepts of fundraising; individual, foundation and corporation fundraising; the psychological aspects of fundraising; roles of University presidents and deans; and ethical issues involved in fundraising. (See attached program)
The Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising was founded at NYU by Naomi Levine in 1998 to train fundraising and philanthropic professionals, to encourage young people and career changers to enter the profession, and to bring public attention to the critical role of philanthropy and fundraising in supporting America’s hospitals, schools, museums, and other charitable and social services. In all, Americans’ contribute more than $240 billion annually to this Third Sector; fundraisers are the essential link between institutions and the philanthropic individuals and organizations that make the work of America’s estimated 1.8 million nonprofit organizations possible.