The University of North Carolina Wilmington announced Thursday that it has surpassed its fundraising campaign goal by raising over $65 million over the duration of the campaign that began in 2005. The Soaring to Greatness campaign was scheduled to last through December, but has officially ended about a year early, said university officials.

About $60 million or 91 percent of the funds raised are restricted to support specific scholarships, professorships, academic, athletic or other programs.

“What a great anniversary gift for a university that turns 65 years old this year. Given the global impact of the economic recession, I cannot tell you how impressed I am with the success of this campaign and the clear dedication of our donors and supporters to our university,” said Chancellor Gary L. Miller in a press release.

Eight distinguished professorships were endowed, seven at $1 million or more and one at $500,0000 and 239 scholarships were created to assist qualified students.

Below are a few examples of some of the campaign’s gifts:

·       The Brewer and Boddie Families established the Lucy Ann Boddie Brewer Distinguished Professorship in Oncological Nursing at the UNCW School of Nursing. This $1 million distinguished professorship in memory of Lucy Ann Brewer, who died of cancer in 1994, was created by the Brewer and Boddie families including Lucy’s husband Joe Brewer Jr.; her daughter Lee Brewer Garrett, a former UNCW Trustee; her daughter Lucy Brewer Wheeless and husband Steve Wheeless; and her son Joe Brewer III and his Virginia Holland Brewer.  Lucy Brewer’s brothers, Mayo and Nick Boddie, along with their wives, children, grandchildren and extended families, are supporting the distinguished professorship through various family foundations. The gift from the family will be matched by $333,000 from North Carolina’s Distinguished Professors Endowment Trust Fund to create a total endowment of $1 million.

·       Wendy and Dell Murphy established a $1 million endowment for the Wendy and Dell Murphy Distinguished Professorship in Education, with a $250,000 matching grant from the Spangler Foundation and $333,000 from the state. The focus of this professorship in the Watson School of Education is pre-K through 12 education, with an emphasis on innovation, school reform and research in policy and practice. Wendy Murphy is the immediate past chair of the UNCW Board of Trustees.

·       The Bernard Osher Foundation awarded $1 million to the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) in UNCW’s Division for Public Service and Continuing Education. It is the second million-dollar gift the foundation has contributed to OLLI. OLLI is an institute for seasoned learners (ages 50+) to enrich their lives through the arts and higher education.

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        Gary Shipman created an irrevocable planned gift of life insurance of $1 million to the Foundation of UNCW to support scholarships in the Department of Athletics and the Watson School of Education. As an alumnus of UNCW, Shipman has been a generous supporter of UNCW and is a current member of the Board of Trustees.

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        Ann Sherman Skiba created the Ann Sherman Skiba Fund for Undergraduate Research and Community Engagement to honor her commitment to UNCW’s applied learning initiatives as an integral element of curricular studies. The fund, established with a gift of $250,000 will provide support for students engaged in undergraduate research.