Florida Tech Kicks off Golden Anniversary Campaign

MELBOURNE, FLA. — Florida Institute of Technology will kick off its Golden Anniversary Campaign for Florida Tech at a gala for major donors on the evening of
April 27 in the Charles and Ruth Clemente Center, on campus.
Anticipating its 50th anniversary in 2008, the university will announce a campaign goal of $50 million, or “50 for the 50th” at the event. This is the most
ambitious fund-raising goal in the university’s history.
Campaign Chairman Phillip Farmer said, “This campaign will help transform Florida Institute of Technology from a good American institution to one of
America’s great universities. It’s the right campaign at the right time.”
In the silent phase of the campaign since 2004, Florida Tech has already achieved just under $30 million of the goal. The campaign is targeted to run until
September 2009.
“The Golden Anniversary Campaign is all about the university’s transition to a new era,” said President Anthony J. Catanese. “Each of the university’s six
colleges will benefit.”
In Florida Tech’s last campaign the university gained four new buildings due primarily to the generosity of the F.W. Olin Foundation and Florida Tech
Trustee Charles Clemente. More changes are in the offing with the Golden Anniversary Campaign.
“This campaign will generate bricks and mortar projects that will allow us to build on the infrastructure created by previous major gifts,” said Thomas G.
Fox, senior vice president for advancement. “Our goals allocate 40 percent for new facilities, ‘bricks and mortar,’ which will lead to more research
funding and help the university attract the best and brightest students and faculty.”
For example, already funded in the campaign’s silent phase is the Emil Buehler Center for Aviation Research and Education. The $5 million Buehler Center,
already under construction, will feature a 12,000-square-foot instructional facility and a 14,000-square foot hangar on eight acres at the southern end of
Melbourne International Airport.
Remaining campaign designations are 20 percent for scholarships and fellowships; 20 percent to endowed chairs and professorships; 15 percent for research
infrastructure; and 5 percent unrestricted.
While many of the campaign’s initial gifts are in the six- and seven-figure range, Florida Tech’s friends and alumni and members of the community can play
an important role with a donation of any amount.
“In every campaign, 85 percent of the money raised will come from individuals,” said Fox. “We want each of our donors to know that everyone has the
capability to make a very real difference. That’s what this campaign is all about.”
For more information about the campaign, visit: http://campaign.fit.edu.