Capital campaign ends as 'a real triumph'
Wayne State University raised nearly $900 million in its first-ever capital campaign, far surpassing its $500 million target, the university announced today. The money raised during the Wayne First campaign will go toward building projects, scholarships, faculty chairs and research and more. "Wayne First is a real triumph for everyone Wayne State serves in Detroit, throughout Michigan and beyond," President Jay Noren said in a statement. "The effects of Wayne First will be felt well into the future."
The seven-year campaign ended Dec. 31. In all, the university received more than 400,000 gifts from alumni and friends, corporations and foundations. Faculty and staff contributed more than $30 million, six times their original goal.
The campaign is responsible for several new buildings on campus. Among them are the Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, the Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center and the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights. Donor Nick Labedz contributed more than $25 million, the largest individual gift in Wayne State's history, to create the Richard J. Mazurek, M.D. Medical Education Commons.
The campaign focused also added $83 million to the university’s endowment through 256 new scholarships, 13 faculty chairs and professorships and 110 funds to support new instructional and research programs.