How much do Tacoma and Pierce County value the University of Washington Tacoma?

How does $35 million worth of appreciation sound?

Considering UWT’s remarkably successful capital fundraising campaign, no one can doubt Tacoma’s young branch campus enjoys extraordinary community support.

UWT backers started out in 2000 with a $20 million goal by 2008. When they topped that goal in only four years, they set a new target of $30 million. When they hit that milestone in August, no one in the UWT campaign thought of resting on their laurels.

They set a new target: $35 million by June 30, 2008. The additional money will boost UWT scholarships and help realize construction of the large commons and assembly space the growing school badly needs.

If previous donors and others who have yet to give maintain the same level of civic spirit and generosity the UWT has seen so far, the new mark will surely fall like the others.

The story is all the more remarkable considering the small alumni donor base UWT campaigners have to work with. The school has existed only 16 years. In the 2005-2006 fiscal year, UWT raised about $3.2 million from 770 contributors.

By contrast, a much older school, Central Washington University, raised only $76,000 more with gifts from nearly 7,400 donors. Among the state’s branch campuses, the $9.9 million raised by the UWT far outdistances the $1.4 million raised by the University of Washington Bothell, which ranks second in that group.

Tacoma does have the benefit of a larger and more established business community than most of the other campus locations, and UWT was one of the first branch campuses to be established.

But there’s no mistaking the message in the UWT campaign’s success: Tacoma and Pierce County deeply, deeply value the UWT both as a means to educational attainment and as a contributor to the city’s overall revitalization.

A great deal of credit goes to a campaign committee led by Simpson Investment Company CEO Ray Tennison of University Place. The committee’s efforts are bolstered by the work of many other civic leaders, including developer Herb Simon and retired banker Bill Philip – two who played key roles in persuading the Legislature to establish UWT in the first place.

Education is a powerful tool for personal and civic betterment. Tacoma and Pierce County have already benefited greatly from the UWT’s presence. With continuing support from the community and the Legislature, UWT’s future will grow brighter still.