| For more information, contact: Jerry Mastey Editor School of Dentistry (734) 615-1971 jmastey@umich.edu |
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$35 Million: School of Dentistry Fundraising Goal
Integral Part of the University’s “The Michigan Difference” Campaign |
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Ann Arbor, MI — May 14, 2004 — The University of Michigan School of Dentistry has announced plans to raise $35 million during the next several years. The goal was announced today by Dean Peter Polverini during the University’s campaign kickoff. The School’s fundraising campaign is an integral part of the University’s fundraising effort, The Michigan Difference. The money the School will raise will be used for merit- and need-based student scholarships, endowed professorships to recruit and retain outstanding faculty, improved facilities, and for special programs. “Our $35 million goal is ambitious,” Polverini said. “But it’s realistic, appropriate, and objective.” One goal is to raise $10 million for student scholarships. The cost of tuition, fees, instruments, materials, books, and supplies now surpass $22,000 annually for in-state students and more than $37,000 for out-of-state students. In the past, financial aid packages typically consisted of 70 percent grants and scholarships; 30 percent were loans. Today, those figures are reversed. As a result, dental students are borrowing heavily to fund their education. A second goal is to raise $11 million for endowed professorships. Today educators can be highly selective about where they wish to teach. Raising this amount of money for endowed professorships will ensure outstanding scholars are not only attracted to U-M, but that they remain here throughout their careers. The third goal is to raise $10 million to improve facilities. New technologies and an explosion of knowledge and research that is increasingly collaborative are profoundly affecting how dentistry is taught today. Our School must upgrade to reflect those realities. The final goal, $4 million, is for program support. These funds will be used to give the School the flexibility it needs to embrace new opportunities and initiatives as they arise. “Funding these important needs will allow the School to continue its heritage of excellence in classroom education, patient care and clinical education, research, and community service,” Polverini said. For more information about the School’s fundraising campaign, visit the School of Dentistry Web site http://www.dent.umich.edu. or the U-M Web site: www.umich.edu. |
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