No specific fundraising goal" article misleading

TO THE EDITOR:

Regarding (Thursday's) lead story about the University's future fundraising plans (""UNC aims to raise $4 billion"")" The Daily Tar Heel has inaccurately characterized a presentation that I made to a Board of Trustees committee on Wednesday. I specifically said that the University was not announcing a new fundraising campaign and that the information being presented represented our current preliminary planning efforts.

The story accurately reports the planning nature of the discussion in context but then proceeds to report a goal however preliminary along with a misleading headline indicating a goal. Then I am quoted accurately as saying there is no amount for a goal.

What the trustees received was a description of our current strategy which includes recruiting a volunteer committee to work with us on a plan for a new campaign. Those efforts would include deliberations about crafting a case statement to generate support from donors a timeline a goal" a name ­— ""Carolina Big"" is strictly tongue-in-cheek placeholder language ­— a budget to fund the campaign and other plans to recruit volunteers.

My concern is that (Thursday's) prominent headline will lead the University community to believe that we're already out there with a new campaign and goal when that's not true. Even though Carolina First is over" we are hard at work raising money to support the University's priorities and our students faculty and staff. But we are not doing that as part of a new campaign — at least not yet. There are many discussions and consultations ahead with the University academic leadership administration faculty staff trustees alumni and friends among others.



  Matthew G. Kupec

Vice Chancellor for University Advancement