The University of Virginia’s Senior Vice President for External Relations has told a key committee of the Board of Visitors that the higher education institution continues to do well in terms of fundraising.
“We had a tremendous fiscal year last year, “said Mark Luellen in a presentation to the Advancement Committee.
“It was the eighth year in a row that we surpassed $500 million in total commitments and ended up with 886 million in total commitments for the fiscal year, which is the highest number that we’ve ever had in the university’s history,” Luellen said.
That’s a 43 percent increase over the previous fiscal year and the first time since 2019 that the number of donations has been in the $800 million range. That’s the year that the Honor the Future campaign kicked off and the same year the Men’s Basketball Team won the NCAA Tournament.
“We did not have a national championship in basketball, did not have a hundred million dollar gift,” Luellen said. “So the fact that we did this despite all the generosity across Grounds, was pretty amazing.”
The Honor the Future Capital Campaign officially closed on June 30, 2025. The original goal was $5 billion but the total amount raised was $6.11 billion.
“That was 122 percent over the $5 billion goal,” Luellen said. “And if any of you are as competitive as I am, that puts us in the fourth largest public campaign that’s ever been completed.”
A celebration will be held in October.
Luellen was named as senior vice president in March. He will now be responsible for state government relations, a function that had been performed by Colette Sheehy. Luellen has recently been introducing interim UVA President Paul Mahoney to state officials in advance of the upcoming General Assembly session.
The Advancement Committee also learned about a program that provides support to local community college students who want to get a degree from UVA.
“The Piedmont Scholars Program is a donor supported initiative that encourages transfer students from Piedmont Virginia Community College as they prepare, apply and transition to UVA,” said Leah Blue, an employee of the Office of Enrollment Services who specializes in transfers. “These are students who often arrive at PVCC having already faced significant obstacles, balancing jobs, caregiving responsibilities, health challenges, and in many cases, limited access to housing and food.”
The program was created in 2021 with support from an anonymous donor. Blue said the program helps UVA advance its mission as a public university.
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