Troy, N.Y. — Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute today announced a vote by the Board of Trustees to increase the Renaissance at Rensselaer campaign goal from $1 billion to $1.4 billion, with the campaign to close June 30, 2009. The recent announcement of an initial in-kind contribution commercially valued at almost $514 million from the Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education (PACE), the largest in PACE history and the largest in-kind contribution in the history of Rensselaer, resulted in total contributions to the campaign exceeding the $1 billion mark.

PACE, which is a joint philanthropic initiative of General Motors, EDS, Sun Microsystems, and UGS Corp. to support key academic institutions worldwide with computer-based design tools to prepare students to compete in the future, announced the commercial value of the contribution at Rensselaer on Sept. 8, 2006.

“As educators we must prepare students for the global economy. This visionary partnership combines the innovative curriculum at Rensselaer with the tools and talents of the PACE partners to create an even more technology-rich, multidisciplinary learning environment for our students,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. “The PACE partnership reflects our mutual goal to prepare the next generation of innovators. This historic in-kind contribution to Rensselaer advances our relationship with these leading global corporations and demonstrates their appreciation for the education Rensselaer offers our students and for the expertise of our faculty in educating them to change the world.”

“At the same time, additional support is essential to realizing the full potential of The Rensselaer Plan as we strive to increase the Institute endowment and continue to implement the Plan in the years ahead. This support will enable us to add new faculty constellations and chairs and scholarships and fellowships for our students; expand our research capabilities in biotechnology and the life sciences; realize the potential of the unique and unparalleled Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center; and build state-of-the-art facilities for our students in the East Campus Athletic Village.”

About the Campaign
Renaissance at Rensselaer: The Campaign for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, launched in 2004, fuels the Institute’s strategic Rensselaer Plan, and supports groundbreaking interdisciplinary programs which have at their core the technologies driving innovations in the 21st century: biotechnology, nanotechnology, information technology, and experimental media and the arts. The campaign aims to build the Institute’s unrestricted endowment, and also seeks funds for endowed scholarships and fellowships, faculty positions, curriculum support, student life programs, and athletic programs and facilities. To date, the effort has raised close to $1.2 billion in cash, pledges, and gifts-in-kind.

Contact: Jason Gorss
Phone: (518) 276-6098
E-mail: gorssj@rpi.edu