[Chronicle]

March 7, 2002
Vol. 21 No. 11

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    University to launch fund-raising campaign

    By Peter Schuler
    News Office

    The University will publicly launch the Chicago Initiative, a five-year fund-raising campaign, on Friday, April 12, with a schedule of events that will include a series of panel discussions offered to University trustees, visiting committee members, and invited alumni and friends.

    The day will begin with a Board of Trustees meeting, at which they will formally approve the initiative’s final monetary goal.

    The University’s Office of Development & Alumni Relations already has secured a substantial amount in donations in the past year and a half, during the initiative’s “private” phase. “We are very pleased with our progress,” said Sarah Pearson, Associate Vice President for Development & Alumni Relations.

    “Though 9/11 postponed this public launch, it has not had an adverse affect on donations and, in fact, we’re doing much better than we anticipated.”

    The Friday, April 12 events are designed to provide “a diverse sampling of everything that makes the University great,” said Karen Alexander, Assistant Vice President for Communications in the Office of Development & Alumni Relations.

    President Randel will open the series of panels with welcoming remarks at noon at the Oriental Institute. The panels will examine a range of major issues, with 10 panels composed of distinguished faculty from diverse departments.

    The topics that will be under discussion, all posed as questions, include “In the Beginning: What Do Our Origins Tell Us About Ourselves?,” “Homo sapiens: Are We Really Rational Creatures?” and “How Will Technology Change the Way We Live and Work?.”

    The day will end with a reception and dinner hosted by Randel at the newly completed Bartlett Dining Commons, formerly the University’s first gymnasium.