The University’s announcement in late 2003 that it had set a fundraising goal of $1 billion by 2007 raised a few eyebrows. “It was a time when the economy was down and a lot of other institutions had elected to defer announcing campaigns until the economy got better,” says Sergio M. Gonzalez, vice president for university advancement and external affairs. “Some of our friends and folks in the community questioned whether it was a good time to launch a campaign as ambitious as this,the largest ever for any institution in the state of Florida and the largest for ourUniversity by far.” Despite the hazy economic climate, Momentum: The Campaign for the University of Miami launched with remarkable energy, and its stamina never wavered.

Having reached the billion-dollar mark 18 months ahead of schedule, Momentum soared to more than $1.4 billion from its original inception in May 2000 to the end of 2007. But the success of the Momentum campaign is evident in many ways above and beyond the record-breaking number of dollars it raised. “The remarkable success of Momentum has fueled a sweeping transformation throughout our institution,” says UM President Donna E. Shalala. “It has been the catalyst of one of our most dynamic periods. Everywhere you look the University is being reinvigorated and transformed, and we are taking advantage of this momentum to further accelerate our progress.

Virtually every aspect of University life has felt the impact of the Momentum campaign. Facilities have been built or enhanced, powerhouse faculty and administrators have been recruited, alumni involvement has reached an all-time high, student scholarships and extracurricular opportunities have been expanded, and the University has risen in national rankings.

“There was no time to wait to implement the things that we wanted to implement for the University,” Gonzalez says. “The Momentum campaign has provided the resources in a number of different areas that have allowed us to improve the institution in a very quantifiable fashion.”

Gonzalez credits the fortuitous timing of the campaign launch to the leadership and foresight of UM President Donna E. Shalala and Momentum campaign chair Dean C. Colson, J.D. ’77, who led the Board of Trustees during most of the campaign’s duration. While other institutions were scaling back their fundraising efforts, the University of Miami grasped the opportunity to make a compelling case to donors. Among the 131,620 who responded were several individuals and institutions that made landmark gifts, thus raising the bar for philanthropic contributions to the University from this point forward. But every gift, no matter how small, contributed to the success of the Momentum campaign.

“If I were to point to one thing that I hope donors felt throughout this campaign and will continue to feel,” Gonzalez says, “is that they are indeed part of this family and part of this University, and they receive back in tangible and intangible ways more than they give to us.”

The family of the late Leonard M. Miller made the largest gift to the campaign: a record-breaking $100 millionto the University’s medical school, which was renamed the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine. Gifts totaling $30 million from philanthropists Phillip and Patricia Frost named the music school in their honor. TheBuoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis made campaign gifts of $27 million, bringing its total support for The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis to more than $46 million. The Diabetes Research Foundation committed $94 million to the University’s Diabetes Research Institute, bringing its contribution total to more than $135 million to date. And heiress Eugenia “Gene” J. Dodson left her $37 million fortune to the University upon her death in 2005.

Other campaign gifts were historic too—not only from a financial standpoint but as an affirmation of commitment by the University’s various constituencies, including the Hispanic community. “We are especially proud that during this campaign, 23 Hispanic donors gave $1 million or more—a statistic that makes us unique in the country.” Gonzalez says.

The alumni community also has connected at a level never before achieved. During a time when national alumni participation levels had dropped, the number of UM alumni who gave back to their alma mater jumped by 50 percent. UM alumni contributed more than one out of every four dollars raised in the Momentum campaign.

“Donna Arbide and the Alumni Relations team have done a wonderful job of creating innovative and effective ways to reconnect our alumni to the University at levels that we have never done before,” Gonzalez says.

Former student-athletes are another group that stepped up to the plate during the Momentum campaign. Their contributions helped generate more than $83 million in support for athletic facility improvements, academic programs, and scholarships. Some of this funding was directed toward The Sprint for Hurricane Athletics, which seeks to raise $75 million to ensure that UM’s legendary intercollegiate athletics program stays at the top of its game. The Sprint campaign has raised $23 million to date and will continue until 2010.

The Momentum campaign has already begun to reshape the University’s landscape, as much-needed facilities continue to move from the wish list to the construction docket. The M. Christine Schwartz Center for Nursing and Health Studies, the Jorge M. Perez Architecture Center, University Village, the Marta and Austin Weeks Music Library and Technology Center, the School of Communication International Building, the Palley Pavilion for Contemporary Glass and Studio Arts at the Lowe Art Museum, and the Kosar/Epstein Faculty Office Wing at the School of Business Administration are some of the new Coral Gables campus facilities that have been built with support from campaign donations. With a remarkable $20 million raised toward the new Robert and Judi Prokop Newman Alumni Center, construction is already under way on this “home away from home” for alumni and friends. A new Student Center complex is planned as part of the campaign’s mission to enhance the student experience.

At the Miller School of Medicine, researchers and clinicians have already settled into the new Clinical Research Building, and the Biomedical Research Building there is presently under construction. The new Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at Palm Beach Gardens now brings cutting-edge eye care to residents outside of Miami.

Within these new, state-of-the-art facilities are world-class faculty who conduct groundbreaking work. Bycreating new endowed teaching chairs and providing vital support for scholarly endeavors, the Momentum campaign helped recruit several faculty stars. Among them are geneticists Jeffery Vance and Margaret Pericak-Vance, Nobel laureate Andrew Schally, and philosopher Colin McGinn.

Despite the campaign’s end, the University of Miami plans to continue the momentum.

“We might take a pause to give thanks, regroup, reflect, and develop comprehensive plans for growth, but given the dynamic energy and leadership at the University, we cannot slow down our fundraising effort at all,” Gonzalez says. “The University is well positioned to build upon the support it received in the Momentum campaign to achieve yet greater levels of excellence.”