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News Release

Last modified: Monday, October 15, 2007

IU received $278.5 million in private sector support, from record number of donors

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Oct. 15, 2007

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University President Michael A. McRobbie today (Oct. 15) announced that IU received $278.5 million in private-sector support in fiscal 2007 from grantmakers and a record number of donors.

The sum of gifts from donors and non-governmental research grants -- called Total Voluntary Support -- reached the third highest level in IU history. The total included $171.5 million in gifts through the IU Foundation and Riley Children's Foundation and $107 million in grants.

"Indiana University's excellence in teaching and research is reflected in the resounding support we traditionally receive from the private sector," McRobbie said. "Through the immense generosity of a record number of donors, we are able to readily adapt to widespread changes in higher education, to build upon our world-class education and research environment, and to expand our relationships with institutions around the globe. We are deeply grateful for this support, which will allow us to achieve our grandest aspirations and create an even more successful future for Indiana University."

"Donors expressed their confidence in IU with this impressive level of support," added Curt Simic, president of the IU Foundation. "A record 112,195 donors made gifts to benefit IU in fiscal 2007."

One of the extraordinary gifts received in the last fiscal year was a contribution of $50 million from Melvin and Bren Simon of Indianapolis for the IU Cancer Center. The gift is being used to create a $25 million research fund, called the Joshua Max Simon Research Endowment, that will recruit and retain internationally accomplished researchers to the School of Medicine and support laboratory research programs at the cancer center.

The other half of the gift will fund the expansion of the cancer center's patient-care facility, a collaboration between the Indiana University School of Medicine and Clarian Health. The cancer center research program and patient-care facilities, which are part of the IU Medical Center on the IUPUI campus, will be named the Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Cancer Center.

Another major gift came from the Lilly Endowment, which made a $40 million gift to the IU Center on Philanthropy, located on the IUPUI campus, to permanently endow a portion of its operating costs. The center's mission is to increase understanding of giving and volunteering, improve professional practice and enhance participation in philanthropy.

For 15 of the past 17 years, IU has ranked among the top 20 universities in the nation -- public and private -- in the amount it receives from the private sector. In 2006, IU ranked 17th in the nation. Rankings based on fiscal 2007 numbers will be published early in 2008 by the Council for Aid to Education. Its commissioned Total Voluntary Support survey includes about 1,000 U.S. colleges and universities.

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