UT Austin’s What Starts Here campaign has an overall goal of $6 billion
On March 4, The University of Texas at Austin publicly launched the What Starts Here fundraising campaign—the biggest and boldest fundraising effort in university and state history—with a goal of raising $6 billion by 2026.
With the additional support, UT Austin aims to become the highest-impact public research university in the world by supporting students, recruiting the best faculty, transforming healthcare and ensuring its scholarship translates to real change for Texans.
The UT College of Fine Arts has announced its own goal to raise $150 million as part of the campaign, and to date, the college has already realized more than $113 million in new gifts since the “silent phase” of this campaign launched in 2016. These donations from alumni, friends, faculty and staff, along with funding from foundations and corporations, will help the college build resources to further its academic mission and increase its endowments. As part of the college’s overall fundraising goal, the college aims to raise $50 million for student support, and more than $41 million has already been raised toward that goal.
“What starts here in the College of Fine Arts does indeed change the world, and I am gratified to be part of this community and to have an up-close look at the incredible impact of the work of our faculty, students and staff,” said Ramón H. Rivera-Servera, dean of College of Fine Arts. “With your help during the What Starts Here campaign, we will build resources to secure the excellence of our programs for future generations of Fine Arts students.”
The College of Fine Arts’ fundraising priorities for the campaign include:
- Innovation in Research and Creative Practice
- Student Support and College-to-Career Success for Artists and Creative
- New State of the Art Facilities and Renovations
"I believe strongly in the importance of supporting the College of Fine Arts' capital campaign," said Caroline Shupbach, chair of the Fine Arts Advisory Council. "As UT continues to educate the best and brightest students, we must have the state-of-the-art facilities and programs that our students deserve. The capital campaign will allow the college to achieve this. What starts here truly changes the world!"
The college’s Development Office, headed by Executive Director and Assistant Dean of Development Sondra Lomax, is leading the college’s campaign efforts and working closely with the college and department leadership and the college’s team of development professionals.
Resources from past and current UT campaign efforts have offered needed support to college-wide initiatives, including a robust endowment for student internships, a new industrial design program, new faculty endowments, funding for the Cohen New Works Festival in the Department of Theatre and Dance, creation of the Kendra Scott Center, and facility renovations for Doty Fine Arts Building and the Art Building.