Homecoming is face-off for Alumni and Friends Division

This year's torrid summer was matched in intensity by the scorching results generated by the Campaign for a New Millennium. To date, solicitations have generated $44,894,000.

Among the pledges finalized this summer were a combined $1 million commitment from Charles and Andrea Bronfman and Seagram to establish a Concordia Institute for Jewish Studies; a $550,000 pledge from the Royal Bank of Canada to fund a Distinguished Professorship in Marketing; and a $400,000 gift over five years from the Macdonald Stewart Foundation to upgrade our Library collections.

Heading into the fall, approximately 75 Leadership, Major, and Special Gifts volunteers have fanned out to deliver more than 300 proposals into the hands of potential donors. The three divisions, operating concurrently in Montreal, Toronto and Western Canada, have generated considerable interest in the University and its future.

In order to better focus the Campaign's efforts in Toronto, Christina Lebesis, Campaign Special Gifts Officer, has moved down the 401 to an office in the Bank of Montreal Building. The office was made available by Brian Steck, Campaign Vice-Chair for the Toronto Division.

The Alumni and Friends Division, the last and largest of the Campaign, is being launched in concert with Homecoming '98. Recognizing the valuable contributions made by the University's three alumni groups (Loyola, Sir George Williams and Concordia) and the deep affinity each feels for its alma mater and/or Faculty of graduation, the Campaign has developed a tightly-focused strategy that builds on the unique links between the University and graduates.

Peter McAuslan, president of McAuslan Brewing, and Christine Lengvari, COO of Lengvari Financial Inc., are co-chairing the Personal Canvas phase of the division, through which nearly 400 individuals will be approached.

A further 60,000 graduates will be solicited via phone and direct mail campaigns. These alumni will receive letters from fellow graduates, including James Stanford, president and CEO of Petro-Canada, Pierre Jeanniot, O.C., director-general of IATA, André Desmarais, president and co-CEO of Power Corporation of Canada, Paul Kefalas, president and CEO of ABB Canada, Diana Nemiroff, curator of contemporary art at the National Gallery of Canada, and Scott Laurie, CTV news correspondent.

Homecoming '98 includes a number of special activities to support the Alumni and Friends Division. Chief among these is the September 26 EXTRAvaganza at Molson Centre, which includes a family skate, special seating for that night's Habs-Leafs hockey game, and a gala auction and party in the Mise au Jeu Restaurant.

In order to reach as many of our far-flung graduates as possible, a Capital Campaign web site has been created. You can access it at: www.concordia.ca/campaign