CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – UVA President Jim Ryan is celebrating the Honor the Future major fundraising campaign started six years ago for reaching the $6-million mark. That’s past the $5-billion goal Ryan announced that year, of which $2.7-billion had already been raised. In an Old Cabell Hall speech that year, he did a Dear Ms. Future letter looking ahead to these days.

“Dear Ms. Future, I write with deference and hope to introduce myself and the rather large community of which I am immensely fortunately to be a part. We are all looking forward to meeting you in person,” Ryan said.

The Honor the Future campaign was launched publicly in October 2019, coinciding with the bicentennial of the University’s founding. The state legislature chartered UVA at its Charlottesville home in 1819, and the first class of students matriculated in 1825. And today, Ryan said in a statement, “this milestone was made possible by the generosity of more than 250,000 individual donors, our campaign volunteers and our dedicated Advancement team”.

The money has financed a number of new scholarships and seen the opening of the School of Data Science, The Karsh Institute of Democracy, the Contemplative Commons, Shannon library renovations among a number of other initiatives. Click here for the complete UVA Today release on this milestone.