When President Shirley M.Tilghman launched Aspire: A Plan for Princeton in 2007, she said,“These campaigns are a testament to the vision and dedication of the far-sighted Princetonians who conceived, led, and supported them.” Behind the extraordinary faculty, facilities, and academic programs, the backbone of Princeton is its alumni, parents,and friends. Whether they are engineers or business leaders,presidents, poets, or basketball heroes, they form an unbroken line of support that connects a small group of 18th-century thinkers who had a profound impact on their era with the vast numbers of present and future Princetonians whose impact is far-ranging and ongoing.

Fifty years ago, Princeton’s first official fundraising campaign began a tradition of strategic financial support for goals that sustain and extend the University as a whole. The $53 Million for Princeton University Campaign raised more than $60 million and resulted in a wealth of new academic programs, new construction on an expanded campus, and a strengthened endowment. Twenty years later A Campaign for Princeton provided the University with $410.5 million, which created Princeton’s renowned Department of Molecular Biology, among other initiatives. The Anniversary Campaign for Princeton, begun in 1995, raised $1.14 billion, which launched the Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, built the James S. McDonnell Hall for physics, broadened undergraduate financial aid policies, and invested in vital aspects of the University from athletic facilities to policy studies.

Princeton’s growth continued in the new millennium. From March 2000, when the University’s endowment passed the $8 billion mark, to June 2008, when astute investing and record-breaking results from Annual Giving and the Anniversary Campaign had doubled that figure, Princeton rode the crest of a favorable economy. With its trademark combination of bold endeavor, prudent stewardship, and long-term vision, the University pursued new frontiers in everything from sustainability to the arts.

But by June 2009, the falling markets had returned the endowment to its 2005 level—a loss of approximately 25 percent. While this has necessitated some difficult choices, the endowment today is still substantially higher than at the start of the decade, and Princeton as a whole is much stronger. As the University has evolved, its remarkable connection to alumni of all ages has remained unchanged. This connection is a great source of strength—and never more so than today.

“These are difficult economic times,” said Provost Christopher L. Eisgruber ’83, the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Public Affairs in the Woodrow Wilson School and the University Center for Human Values. “Fortunately, we have always budgeted in a way that assumes not only that there will be good times but that there will also be hard times. So, while we are well prepared to meet today’s challenges—thanks in no small measure to Princetonians’ long tradition of giving back—we must also be mindful that as our endowment is generating less income, the University’s needs, particularly in the areas of financial aid and program support, have not declined. In fact, we are seeing an increased need for financial aid for students whose families have experienced economic setbacks. We have been able to meet that need, thanks to the generosity of our alumni, parents, and friends, and we count on their support in keeping Princeton strong for the future.”

July 2009