Florida International University has big plans to beef up its Miami-centric research programs and make attending more affordable to students. But to get there, it needs three quarters of a billion dollars.
The university on Saturday will host a celebration at its Modesto A. Maidique campus to officially launch the public phase of its Next Horizon campaign to reach its goal of $750 million. The event will begin at noon at the center of campus, on the steps of the PC building facing the fountain.
The event will feature FIU President Mark Rosenberg and presidential poet laureate and FIU alumnus Richard Blanco. There will be entertainment, free food and giveaways.
“It’s going to be a real FIU celebration,” Rosenberg said Friday.
FIU launched its campaign to beef up its endowment in 2009. The university has been soliciting private donations and now needs slightly less than $300 million to meet its goal, which Rosenberg hopes will happen within three years. He said 132,000 overall gifts have been made to the university in the Next Horizon campaign.
Large donors have a significant say in how their donation is spent, Rosenberg said. Real estate developer Jorge Perez, for example, gave $1 million to scholarships for the honors college, which covers the full cost for 16 students over all four years. Car dealer Norman Braman donated $500,000 for student completion scholarships for students with no family support. Chad Moss, FIU’s largest alumni donor, gave $10 million for FIU’s construction management program, including scholarships, support for new professors and facility improvements.
But Rosenberg hopes the public portion of the funding will go to helping students afford college and graduate on time and to reinforcing selected programs, deemed “preeminent programs.” They include the Extreme Events Institute for research and training in natural hazards and disasters, Institute for Resilient and Sustainable Coastal Infrastructure and the Institute of Water and Environment.
“We’re seeking additional support so we can help to improve prospects for students to get great educations, on one hand, and for the university to get move involved solving community problems,” Rosenberg said.
The cash could also help FIU’s standing in the state university system, which oversees all public universities in Florida. Rosenberg said FIU’s goals align with the metrics the state university system uses to award universities for making strides in college affordability and research. The university rose to No. 2 this year.
But FIU’s endowment dwarfs in comparison to other universities. Rosenberg said its current endowment sits at $300 million. The University of Florida, which ranked No. 1 in the state university system, has an endowment of more than $2 billion.
“A university our size, a university of our impact should have an endowment that is much larger than it was,” Rosenberg said. “I know that the great universities, public universities, have billion dollar endowments and major funding from the private sector.”
This story was originally published January 25, 2019 6:11 PM.