The event, held at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, was hosted by Al Gamper, former chair of the Board of Governors and a longtime friend and supporter of Rutgers. Gamper emphasized that “the transformation of Rutgers as a top-tier institution in education, research and public service is achievable with a successful campaign.”

Also attending were members of the Board of Governors, Board of Overseers, Board of Trustees, administrators, vice presidents, deans, alumni and Foundation leaders.

The event marked the beginning of the campaign’s quiet phase and celebrated the announcement of the campaign cochairs: Al Gamper, chairman (retired) of CIT Group, Inc. and Board of Overseers member and former Board of Governors president; Keiko Harvey, senior vice president for advanced services of Verizon and Board of Overseers member; Duncan MacMillan, cofounder of Bloomberg L.P. and Board of Governors and Board of Overseers member; Ernest Mario, chairman and CEO of Capnia, Inc. and Board of Overseers member; and Thomas Renyi, chairman and CEO of The Bank of New York and Board of Trustees member.

Additionally, Dr. Philip Furmanski, the university’s executive vice president for academic affairs discussed the priorities process. He described the 670 proposals that were submitted from across the university as “a statement that Rutgers is ready for a major campaign, and that all academic disciplines and other university areas have clear and compelling ideas of what a world-class institution must offer in the first half of the 21st century.”

Richard Shindell, a graduate and longtime supporter of Rutgers, stated that giving to the campaign will present donors “with a wonderful opportunity to do something truly significant and personally fulfilling.” Mr. Shindell was recently inspired to endow a faculty chair now occupied by Dr. Wise Young at the Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, where Rutgers is leading the scientific community in research to find cures for spinal cord injuries.

The Rutgers Glee Club ended the evening with a performance of the alma mater, “On the Banks of the Old Raritan.” Close.

“This is a wonderful example of how the foundation can partner with the administration and faculty to realize the dreams of both donors and the university community,” says Yun Won Cho, associate vice president for principal gifts at the Rutgers University Foundation. “It was a true team effort by the administration, faculty members and a generous donor that brought the Writers House to fruition.”

          

The first steps to launch the project came about when the foundation set up a meeting last year between Thomas Russell, a Rutgers alumnus and chairman of the Board of Directors of Emcore, a fiber optics company, and President Richard L. McCormick and his wife, Joan Barry McCormick.

Subsequent meetings nurtured Russell’s partnership with the university. As a result of these efforts, Russell, who majored in engineering and believes passionately that the humanities and new technologies can complement each other, committed $500,000 to the creation of the Writers House.

The facility, which opened this fall in the basement of Murray Hall, offers courses in traditional writing, such as poetry, fiction and nonfiction, as well as opportunities for students to hone their skills in such burgeoning fields as web authoring, multimedia composition, documentary filmmaking, and professional writing.

“We are imagining a place where the digital humanities are focused on acts of composition,” says Richard Miller, chair of the English department in New Brunswick. “We want to serve all students, not just English majors. We are providing a space where a rich education in the humanities is married to the expressive possibilities of these powerful technologies.”

On the horizon, Miller envisions the university and the Foundation raising funds for a new humanities center to be built on the College Avenue Campus that will provide a place for faculty and students to explore the creative possibilities of these new technologies. “The humanities, properly practiced, are designed to transform human experience. The goal of the Center for the New Humanities is to provide access to the creative potential with which we are all endowed,” he notes. by Amy Vames, contributing writer Close.