UB hosts alumni update on Boldly Buffalo campaign

Nearly 500 UB alumni and friends gathered Tuesday evening in the new downtown home of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences to hear an update on the university’s $650 million fundraising campaign and to tour the state-of-the-art building.

UB has raised $14 million since it announced Boldly Buffalo: The Campaign for UB in April, Rod Grabowski, vice president for advancement and alumni engagement, told those attending the reception. With previous commitments of $451 million, the university has now secured $465 million toward the campaign, Grabowski said.

“The majority of the commitments to the campaign have come from alumni and friends, just like you, who give back in gratitude for the excellent education they received or to help support their passions: student scholarships, recruiting top faculty, supporting new programs, and more,” he said.

“Those $465 million — in gifts of every size imaginable — are already making an impact on campus. The message? Everyone can be bold.

“Be bold for UB, as it continues to transform and improve our world in so many ways every single day,” he said.”

President Satish K. Tripathi told attendees that as proud UB alumni, they know firsthand the impact a UB education can have.

“Our Boldly Buffalo campaign helps make UB’s education even more accessible by providing scholarships and fellowships to our deserving students,” as well as recruit faculty “who inspire the next generation of change-makers and innovators,” Tripathi said.

“At UB, we are driven to be bold — to boldly imagine and to boldly achieve our goals.”

The new medical school building is a perfect example of UB’s bold vision, Tripathi said. But the university still has much to accomplish, he noted.

“Our Boldly Buffalo campaign will help us achieve these goals, making UB shine even brighter, thanks in no small part to you,” he told attendees.

“It will take all of us — our students, faculty and you, our alumni and friends — to build our most promising future.”

The Boldly Buffalo campaign is the largest in the history of UB and the SUNY system. To date, 61,226 donors have pledged than more than 161,000 gifts toward the campaign. Of those donors, 112 have made gifts of $1 million or more. And 10,568 are alumni who made their first-ever gifts to UB.

Donor gifts and pledges have supported 223 endowed scholarships and fellowships, and 22 endowed chair and professor positions.

In addition to Tuesday’s event in Buffalo, UB will be hosting campaign updates for alumni in Florida, New York City, Phoenix and Washington, D.C. International events are planned in Beijing, Jakarta, Seoul, Shanghai, Taipei and Toronto.