With national champion men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett passing the microphone to a nearly as well-known crooner of the same name, UVA launched the public phase of its fundraising campaign in October.

The older Tony Bennett had something to sing about. UVA reports having already raised $2.75 billion toward the Honor the Future Campaign’s $5 billion goal, calculated from 2013, when the last capital campaign concluded.

The $5 billion target is ambitious. It ties what may be the record for a public university campaign goal, the University of Washington having set that bar in 2016 for an initiative set to conclude next year. The University of Michigan surpassed $5 billion last year with a target of $4 billion, according to Inside Higher Ed.

UVA’s campaign is built around President James E. Ryan’s (Law ’92) vision to become the top public university by 2030. (See President’s Letter, Winter 2019.) Each school and unit has its own stake in the campaign, including the UVA Alumni Association, which has raised $35 million toward its $70 million goal, according to Ashley Cullop (Col ’06, Curry ’10 ’12), the Association’s chief development officer.