COMMITTEE on ADVANCEMENT Meeting Minutes June 10, 2021 President’S Room 215B, Emerson Alumni Hall University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Time Convened: 9:13 A.M
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COMMITTEE ON ADVANCEMENT Meeting Minutes June 10, 2021 President’s Room 215B, Emerson Alumni Hall University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Time Convened: 9:13 a.m. Time Adjourned: 9:47 a.m. Committee and Board members present: Anita G. Zucker (Committee Chair), David C. Bloom, David L. Brandon, Cooper L. Brown, Richard P. Cole, Christopher T. Corr, Morteza “Mori” Hosseini (Board Chair), Thomas G. Kuntz (Board Vice Chair), Daniel T. O’Keefe, Rahul Patel, Marsha D. Powers and Fred S. Ridley. Others present: W. Kent Fuchs, President; Joseph Glover, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs; Tammy Aagard, Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management and Associate Provost; Chris Cowen, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; Elias Eldayrie, Vice President and Chief Information Officer; Jodi Gentry, Vice President for Human Resources; Amy Hass, Vice President and General Counsel; Edward Jimenez, Chief Executive Officer for UF Health Shands; Mark Kaplan, Vice President for Government and Community Relations and University Secretary; Charlie Lane, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; Thomas Mitchell, Vice President for Advancement; D’Andra Mull, Vice President for Student Affairs; David Nelson, Senior Vice President for Health Affairs; David Norton, Vice President for Research; Nancy Paton, Vice President for Strategic Communications and Marketing; Winfred Phillips, Executive Chief of Staff; Curtis Reynolds, Vice President for Business Affairs; Scott Stricklin, Director of Athletics; members of the University of Florida community, and the public. 1.0 Call to Order and Welcome Committee Chair Zucker welcomed everyone in attendance and called the Advancement Committee meeting to order at 9:13 a.m. She asked Vice President Mitchell to verify the quorum. 2.0 Verification of Quorum Vice President Tom Mitchell verified a quorum. Trustee Heavener did not attend. 3.0 Review and Approval of Minutes Committee Chair Zucker asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the March 18, 2021, committee meeting and the pre-meeting conference calls held on April 28, 2021, and May 19, 2021, which was made by Trustee Cole and a second, which was made by Trustee Powers. The 1 Committee Chair asked for further discussion, after which she asked for all in favor of the motion and any opposed and the motion was approved unanimously. 4.0 Discussion Items Committee Chair Zucker called attention to one handout − the Athletics campaign impact brochure − and called on Vice President Mitchell to present an update on the campaign. 4.1 Campaign Goals Status Vice President Mitchell began by acknowledging Trustee Cole and Trustee Heavener for their outstanding work in introducing us to new key individuals throughout the state whom we have been able to engage and Trustee Patel for his leadership, guidance and direction on namings. He then called on Vice President Eldayrie who reported that the COVID pandemic taught us a lot about technology and offered us an opportunity to rethink how we deploy technology in a way that improves the customer experience, increases security and creates flexibility. Technology updates will be implemented in Emerson Alumni Hall that will allow flexibility in three different types of environments: face-to-face, hybrid and 100% online. These updates will make it easier to use and manage for a customer experience that’s worthy of a top 5 university. Vice President Mitchell presented two slides showing the status of the campaign goals that were set in 2014. By the end of June, we think the campaign number will probably be $3.2 billion; the total commitments number will probably be $540 million plus; and the cash (VSE) number will probably be close to $470 million. One of the big ideas − the AI initiative − has been enormously successful and has permeated the entire campus. Our skyline continues to be enhanced and changed by the capital projects; we have over 2,100 volunteers who are engaged in the campaign; and our investment returns are extraordinary. He noted that Trustee Patel started the campaign around the alumni participation rate (APR) years ago, and we’ve been beating the drum ever since. We need 2,100 donors in order to reach our goal of 19% by the end of June, and we’re looking at launching multiple giving days to help us accomplish that, one of which is getting ready to launch. Vice President Mitchell then shared a video featuring Tim Tebow paying tribute to his father on Father’s Day. The inspirational video, made possible through the help of Trustee Heavener, will hopefully motivate our alumni and friends and help us move closer to the 19% APR goal. Following the video, he acknowledged Matt Hodge and his team for all their efforts on the campaign numbers. President Fuchs reminded everyone that even though we were in the midst of COVID, we still had the best year ever in education, research and scholarship mission, engagement with the community and the world, and engagement with our alumni. An APR of 19% has never happened at UF before, and we’ve had another record year of cash and new gifts and commitments. He noted that the real thanks goes to everyone who has worked to make this happen, everyone who made those gifts and everyone who engaged with UF. 2 Vice Chair Kuntz inquired as to who the top leader is in APR. Vice President Mitchell responded there are only three or four institutions in that space. When we reach 20%, we’ll be in the top 5. Chair Hosseini noted that the goal number we want to get to is 20% APR. Trustee Brandon stated that we started out at 12%, and Matt Hodge ensures that the message on how important the APR is to the university is made known to the students at commencement ceremonies. Provost Glover added that the APR is very important to the rankings, and this was a heavy lift. He congratulated the team. Committee Chair Zucker offered her congratulations to the Advancement team and to everyone for the amazing accomplishments. 4.2 Go Greater Campaign Impact: Athletics Trustee Ridley noted that it was a special honor to introduce the impact of the Go Greater campaign on Athletics. Following a brief video, he introduced Athletic Director Scott Stricklin. Athletic Director Stricklin reported that providing “a championship experience with integrity” encapsulates what Athletics wants to accomplish. Whether it’s individuals, foundations or corporations, the Go Greater campaign has had a transformational impact and a lot of philanthropy has happened over the last seven years. While points of pride are mostly focused on the athletic competition side, the academic piece is obviously important. UF is the only school with 100 or more Academic All-SEC honorees in the last quarter century. Some of the athletic facilities that have either been enhanced or built from scratch include the following Hawkins Center at Farrior Hall, Exactech Arena, Katie Seashole Pressly Softball Stadium, Florida Ballpark, and Heavener Football Training Center. Athletic Director Stricklin closed by saying that the Go Greater campaign has completely changed the skyline of our capital plan for athletics. As we go forward, having a foundation of people who support Gator philanthropy will help move us to top 5. The University Athletic Association is on track for the 12th straight year for finishing in the Top 5 Directors’ Cup. 4.3 Mini Campaigns Committee Chair Zucker reported that even though we’ve reached our $3 billion campaign goal, we still have 17 months left to go in the campaign timeline. In order to keep the momentum going, we’ve launched some mini campaigns. University Priorities • Three mini campaigns have launched: Artificial Intelligence (AI) University, Machen Florida Opportunity Scholarship (MFOS) and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion • Three mini campaigns are in the planning stages: Institute for Florida’s Future, Infirmary and Need-Based Financial Aid College/Unit Priorities • Five mini campaigns have launched: Neuro Expansion, Harn, Design Construction and Planning Collaboratory, Honors and Music 3 • Three mini campaigns are in the planning stages: Early Childhood Learning Lab; P.K. Yonge Gym and Institute for Coaching Excellence (pending approvals) The Early Childhood Learning Lab mini campaign will be officially launched in partnership with Trustee O’Keefe, former Trustee Doré and Vice President Gentry, and we envision three phases in FY2022, FY2023 and FY2024. Our thanks to Senior Vice President Cowen on his commitment to provide some institutional support for Phases 1 and 2. We will seek private support for 50% of Phases 1 and 2 and all of Phase 3. 5.0 New Business Committee Chair Zucker asked if anyone had any new business to share. Chair Hosseini shared his appreciation for the amazing work that’s been done and noted that this is the first time that he’s heard from a group that wasn’t stopped by the pandemic but actually went up and hit it out of the park. He expressed his appreciation for the launch of the important mini campaigns but also noted that we need to discuss the future because years down the road others will be impacted by the decisions we make today. He stated that we will be looking at Advancement and the UF Foundation as part of the One UF initiative and called on Committee Chair Zucker and Vice President Mitchell to begin thinking about the next 5-10 years and come up with a plan to share at the September BOT Retreat so the Board can get a feel for what the future of Advancement and the next campaign will look like and can begin putting it all together. Committee Chair Zucker responded that work has already begun on the planning. The next 5-10 years will be critically important, and it presents an amazing opportunity.