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News Release

Last modified: Monday, April 15, 2002

IU ranks first nationally in private support

Indiana University has rocketed to the top of the charts, becoming the No. 1 public university in the nation in the amount of support it receives from the private sector. The ranking, compiled annually by the Council for Aid to Education, compares 2001 fiscal year results for 960 colleges and universities in the United States.

IU's $300.9 million in private support comes from two sources: (1) gifts from alumni and non-alumni individuals, corporations, foundations and other organizations, and (2) research grants and contracts awarded to the university's faculty and staff by private-sector organizations. In fiscal 2001, IU received $232.7 million in gifts and $68.2 million in non-governmental research grants.

"IU has consistently ranked in the top 10 among public universities and in the top 20 among all colleges and universities, a testimonial to the respect and support IU's people and programs receive from the private sector," IU President Myles Brand said. "To be first in the nation among all public universities this year is an honor IU has worked hard to earn."

One key to IU's leap from seventh last year to first this year among public universities, and from 19th to seventh among all universities, is the extraordinary support received from the Lilly Endowment in fiscal 2001 for IU's Life Sciences Initiative. "The gift from the Lilly Endowment of $105 million was a considered investment in the ability of IU, with other partners, to be a driver of economic development and quality of life in the state," Brand said.

The Lilly grant is an important, but not the only, part of the fund-raising story, according to IU Foundation President Curt Simic.

"Indiana University is in the final stages of a very successful $700 million campaign for the IUPUI campus, and completed a $504 million campaign for the Bloomington campus about a year ago. As part of those programs, President Brand and the IU Trustees instituted an income-matching program for gifts of $500,000 and more that were designated for faculty endowments. This was a great incentive to donors," Simic said.

Approximately 100,000 individual alumni and friends, corporations and foundations made gifts for IU. "This is a testament to the effectiveness of the volunteer leaders and the development officers who serve every IU campus," Simic said. "They should be congratulated and thanked for their effective efforts."

"The environment for grant funding is very competitive," added George Walker, IU vice president for research and dean of the University Graduate School. "Thus, it is a tribute to the high quality of IU's faculty and staff that they received nearly $69 million in grants last year from private-sector companies and organizations.

"This success demonstrates the great confidence external funders have in IU and in the contributions our faculty, staff and students make to the state and nation. These grants and opportunities will enhance education at the graduate and undergraduate levels, and thus will enhance both our research and teaching missions," Walker said.

Below is a list of the top 20 universities in terms of total voluntary support as of June 30, 2001. Information was compiled by the Council for Aid to Education and originally published by The Chronicle of Higher Education in its April 5 issue.

1. Harvard University, $683,172,781

2. Stanford University, $468,966,598

3. Columbia University, $358,682,692

4. Yale University, $350,122,800

5. Johns Hopkins University, $347,732,206

6. Cornell University, $309,472,937

7. Indiana University, $300,848,253

8. Emory University, $297,777,753

9. University of Wisconsin at Madison, $292,428,950

10. University of Pennsylvania, $285,595,522

11. University of Southern California, $280,985,857

12. University of California at San Francisco, $271,565,196

13. Duke University, $264,424,566

14. University of California at Los Angeles, $263,652,406

15. University of Washington, $231,918,169

16. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, $228,926,489

17. University of Michigan, $218,114,223

18. Ohio State University, $210,550,855

19. University of California at Berkeley, $202,607,331

20. Michigan State University, $202,006,722

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