Southwestern University recorded its third-best fundraising year ever in 2011-2012.

For the period between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2012, Southwestern received gifts and pledges totaling $18,912,924.

The commitments received in 2011-2012 bring the total of the university’s Thinking Ahead campaign to $136,150,239, which is 90 percent of the campaign’s $150 million goal. Southwestern has received nearly $6 million of the $24 million needed for its new science center.

Major gifts and pledges received in 2011-2012 included:

  • A $5 million pledge from 1963 graduate Joe Seeber to reintroduce football at Southwestern as an intercollegiate sport in the fall of 2013 and begin women’s lacrosse as a varsity sport in the spring of 2014. San Antonio businessman Red McCombs, who also attended Southwestern and played football, pledged an additional $1 million to support the new programs.
  • A $3 million pledge from the Cullen Trust for Higher Education to complete renovations to the Cullen Building.
  • $1.55 million from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to reshape Southwestern’s Paideia Program, support NITLE’s Digital Humanities project, and support several presidential priorities.
  • A $1.3 million pledge from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to transform Southwestern’s science curriculum.
  • $1.1 million from The Brown Foundation, Inc. for the new science center and student scholarships.
  • $500,000 pledged through the estate of a former trustee and parent of a Southwestern graduate.
  • $450,000 from the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to support transfer students from Austin Community College.

“In addition to the major gifts and pledges received during the year, Southwestern also benefits from thousands of smaller gifts from alumni, parents and friends,” said Kent Huntsman, associate vice president for development. “We consider these gifts to be an expression of the confidence these donors have in the Southwestern Experience and the quality of our faculty and students. We are truly grateful for the collective impact of all gifts, large and small.”