Feb. 25, 1998
                                                Contact: Carol Wood
                       			        (804) 924-6189
                                                             



Momentum of Giving Encourages Board to Set New Goal
UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA RAISES CAMPAIGN MARK TO $1 BILLION

THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA has increased the goal of its $750
million fund-raising campaign to $1 billion. Approved today by
the executive committee of the University's Board of Visitors,
the new goal makes the University one of only a handful of public
institutions and by far the smallest of those to conduct a
campaign of this magnitude.  "This is a bold and ambitious step,
but the progress of the campaign to this point and the
encouragement we have received from alumni and friends give us
confidence we will reach this goal," said John T. Casteen III,
president of the University.  "The extraordinary vision and
generosity of our donors have allowed us to raise our aspirations
and to work toward self-sufficiency and maturity as we seek
support for promising initiatives that have arisen since the
campaign began three years ago," Casteen said. "In addition to
addressing new priorities, we will continue to seek funding for
our many core needs that remain from our initial goal. Among
these are faculty salaries, graduate fellowships, information
technology, our libraries, the arts, and athletics."  The
Campaign for the University of Virginia was launched publicly in
October 1995 and is scheduled to conclude at the end of the year
2000. To date, it has raised $673 million in gifts, pledges and
other commitments, including bequests. The campaign has obtained
gifts for 113 endowed professorships, 444 endowed scholarships
and fellowships, and 168 other academic endowments. The campaign
has added more than $31 million to the University's unrestricted
general endowment.

"The campaign already is making a tremendous difference," said
Hovey S. Dabney, rector of the University. "Resources contributed
in this effort have strengthened programs across the Grounds, and
they have allowed the Board of Visitors to address pressing
concerns, such as the need to keep faculty salaries competitive.
The University's national stature is the result of the quality of
its teachers and scholars, and the campaign is helping us to
maintain that excellence."


Dabney pointed to the momentum of the fund-raising effort and the
breadth of support as clear signs that the $1 billion goal is
achievable.  Nearly 103,000 donors have taken part in the
campaign and have made more than 300,000 gifts and pledges.
Among these are nearly 800 contributions of $100,000 or more and
in excess of 100 commitments of $1 million or more.  The
campaign's volunteer leaders are optimistic that the University
will be able to sustain this rate of progress.  "The University
is facing an unprecedented opportunity," said Campaign
Co-chairman Thomas A. Saunders III of New York City. "The
confluence of this campaign with a robust economy and the
exceptional loyalty shown by alumni and friends will allow us to
improve the University in profound and indelible ways.  We have
the potential to transform the University of Virginia from the
best public institution in the country into one of the very best,
public or private. We can't let this opportunity slip away."
Building on the success of the campaign, several of the
University's schools and programs have raised their respective
targets.  Three areas have increased their goals to $100 million:
the School of Law; the Darden Graduate School of Business
Administration, which has increased its goal twice; and the
Department of Athletics, which last year began a new fund-raising
appeal to expand the University's football stadium.  The Health
Sciences Center, which encompasses the University Hospital and
the Schools of Medicine and Nursing, has raised its goal from
$125 million to $160 million.  Today, the McIntire School of
Commerce will triple its goal from $16 million to $48 million,
while the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences will
increase its goal from $76 million to $90 million.  The
University currently receives about 11 percent of its revenue
from state appropriations. Although state support will continue
to represent the University's core funding, private funding is
essential to sustaining the national eminence of its schools and
programs, said Campaign Co chairman Edward C. Mitchell Jr. of
Atlanta.  "The University will always be the flagship institution
in Virginia's system of higher education, but we must pursue
resources beyond those provided by the Commonwealth to finance
the level of excellence to which the University aspires,"
Mitchell said. "The $1 billion campaign will ensure that the
University enters the next century strong, self-sufficient, and
secure in its future."  The University now is pursuing one of the
largest campaign goals in the history of higher education.  As
many as a dozen other universities, including a number of public
institutions, are conducting or have completed campaigns of $1
billion or more.
       
"These are the schools with which the University competes for the
best students and the best faculty," Mitchell said, citing the
University of California, Berkeley and the University of
Michigan.  "We must succeed in this campaign if we are to
continue to stand tall among our peers.  ###

Television reporters should contact our TV News Office at (804)
924-7550.

For online information on the University's new campaign goal,
check out http://www.virginia.edu/Goal2000

U.Va. News online:  http://www.virginia.edu/topnews





                                                  			  Feb. 25, 1998
                                                  			  Contacts:  Charlotte Crystal 
								           (804) 924-6858 
								          Denise Forster 
								           (804) 924-7005


U.Va.'s McIntire School Receives First $1 Million Gift
COMMERCE SCHOOL TRIPLES FUND-RAISING GOAL TO $48 MILLION

        The University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce has tripled its fund-raising goal to $48 million, a move that coincides with today's vote by the Board of Visitors to raise the University's overall campaign goal to $1 billion.
        By January, McIntire had raised more than $13 million toward its initial goal of $16 million, but McIntire Dean Carl Zeithaml, reflecting faculty and alumni views, believed the school could raise significantly more than its anticipated goal.
        "Like many schools at the University, McIntire benefits from an extremely loyal and productive group of alumni," Zeithaml said. "Not only do they offer financial support, but they return to Grounds often, as guest speakers and competition judges. They value their years at McIntire and want to be a part of that experience for today's students."
        Indeed, two alumni recently signaled their devotion to the school and support of Zeithaml's new educational initiatives through campaign commitments of $1.3 million.
        * Retired Marine Corps Maj. Calvin Crum (Commerce, '41) has established a revocable living trust, promising McIntire its first $1 million gift ever. The Crum Scholars Program is a scholarship fund that will be used to help students who must work to finance their studies.
        * Retired U.S. Army Col. Richard Raichlen (Commerce, '40) has established a charitable trust that will fund two endowments, valued at about $300,000. The Richard A. and Kathryn A. Raichlen Dean's Fund for Academic Excellence will provide discretionary funds for the dean to use in supporting innovative curriculum, technology, and faculty teaching and research. The Richard A. and Kathryn A. Raichlen Endowed Scholarship will provide scholarships for McIntire students.
        Since arriving at the University last July, Zeithaml has unveiled five strategic initiatives to strengthen the highly ranked McIntire School of Commerce. These initiatives are designed to set the stage for the school's continuing international leadership. The initiatives include:
intellectual capital of faculty and staff; innovation in teaching and learning; information technology; international business; innovative and emerging businesses.
        "A dramatic increase in the school's resources is essential to enable McIntire to enhance its 
faculty and staff, and to move ahead in creating innovative programs that will distinguish the school," Zeithaml said.
        At a recent meeting, members of the school's Advisory and Foundation Boards endorsed this new direction by committing more than $500,000 to launch the initiatives.
        U.Va.'s McIntire School of Commerce enrolls third- and fourth-year undergraduates in a two-year program that offers them a bachelor's degree in business administration. The school also offers two master's degree programs, one in accounting and one in management of information systems. Building on the momentum of the initiatives, the M.I.S. program has been revised to meet the needs of students and employers by combining both technical and business skills in the curriculum.
        McIntire was ranked fifth in the country among undergraduate business administration programs in 1997 by U.S. News & World Report. In 1995, ComputerWorld magazine ranked the school's master's degree program in Management of Information Systems as the best in the country. Public Accounting Report ranked the school's master's degree program in accounting 12th.
        Founded at the University in 1922, McIntire currently has a full-time faculty of more than 60 and 735 students enrolled in its graduate and undergraduate programs. The Campaign for the University of Virginia was launched publicly in October 1995 and is scheduled to conclude at the end of the year 2000. To date, it has raised $673 million in gifts, pledges and other
commitments, including bequests. The campaign has obtained gifts for 113
endowed professorships, 444 endowed scholarships and fellowships, and 168 other academic endowments. The campaign has added more than $31 million to the University's unrestricted general endowment.
        Nearly 103,000 donors have taken part in the campaign and have made more than 300,000 gifts and pledges. Among these are nearly 800 contributions of $100,000 or more and in excess of 100 commitments of $1 million or more.
                                                  ###

        For more information about McIntire's fund-raising initiatives, call Diana Walker, associate dean for external affairs, at (804) 243-8637. To discuss McIntire's strategic initiatives, call Carl Zeithaml, dean, at (804) 924-3176. 

	Television reporters should call our TV News Office at (804)924-7550.
  
For online information on the University's new campaign goal, check out http://www.virginia.edu/Goal2000 



FACULTY AND STAFF CAMPAIGN EXCEEDS $5 MILLION

	U.Va.'s Faculty and Staff Campaign differs from other components of the Campaign for the University in that participation rate rather than a specific dollar amount is its goal. Nevertheless, the internal campaign has raised more than $5 million, while boasting a percentage rate that exceeds the University's initial goal of 40 percent and a national average of 20 percent.
	The education, commerce, architecture, medical and nursing schools and the University libraries report participation rates greater than or equal to 75 percent, said Ernest H. Ern, senior vice president. "I'm extraordinarily gratified for the support of faculty and staff since the outset [of this campaign]. We said we wanted to send a strong message to friends, corporations and foundations that the University was behind this endeavor." 
	Total cash and pledges received during this campaign total $868,033 as of Jan. 20. Irrevocable planned gifts, such as charitable remainder trusts, made by faculty and staff since January 1996 total $1.5 million, and revocable planned gifts, such as bequests, total $3.6 million.
	The faculty and staff campaign's University-wide giving opportunity is a need-based, undergraduate scholarship for the children of U.Va. employees. Cash and pledges for the scholarship stand at $107,707, as of Jan. 20. The first scholarship will be awarded this fall.
	Other giving opportunities, created by U.Va. employees during this campaign, include:
¥ a Department of Athletics staff endowment fund to support an annual scholarship for a rising fourth-year 	student-athlete
¥ a Cancer Center fund to honor Information Technology and Communication employees who have 	survived or been lost to cancer
¥ a Faculty and Staff Library Fund to support collections
¥ a Medical Center staff training and support fund
¥ an Architecture School graduate fellowship in honor of former dean Joseph Bosserman
¥ a McIntire School of Commerce staff development fund.

For online information on the University's new campaign goal, check out http://www.virginia.edu/Goal2000