The Reporter: Oct 1994, Vol.5, No.3
Development: Five Years of Growth

Private giving to Columbia Health Sciences during the past five years has totaled nearly $210 million, a 36 percent increase, reports Frederick Lehmann, deputy vice president for development at the Health Sciences.

The increase includes a $15 million increase in private giving to the Department of Medicine during a three-year period. The department's endowment has grown from $37 million to $47 million.

The five-year period also saw major growth in the number of full professorships funded by private gifts. The Health Sciences Division has established 64 professorships since 1900, 11 of those funded and filled since 1989. Another five chairs were pledged during that five-year period, and approximately 12 more chairs are in the planning process.

The increase in private giving to the Health Sciences coincides with an increase in the number of Health Sciences supporters active on committees, boards, and councils throughout the medical center. Since 1989, the Columbia Health Sciences Advisory Council, formerly the National Visiting Council, has grown from approximately 10 members to 65 members. Advisory Council meetings are held twice a year, and the council's standing committees play an increasing role in helping the Health Sciences review needs, consider goals, and solve funding issues for basic and clinical science programs.

Schools, centers, and departments also have advisory groups that play roles similar to the Advisory Council's role. Growth has been seen in those areas also. For example, the Department of Psychiatry's advisory group has doubled its membership, and the advisory group for the School of Dental and Oral Surgery is three times as large as it was when it was started in 1991.

The development staff has helped generate nearly 250 proposals for major gifts from individuals, foundations, and corporate sources. The staff also produces information and fund-raising materials.