David Petis, Vice-President of Advancement, Brock President Jack Lightstone, Wendy Ward, Canada Research Chair, and student Tyler Plyley at the Bold New Brock campaign celebration. Photo: Niagara This Week.

Brock University has garnered $85 million in support of its Bold New Brock capital campaign, exceeding its original goal by $10 million.

Brock President Jack Lightstone shared the news today at a celebration event at the University where he also announced Brock is extending the campaign to the end of 2015, with a new cumulative goal of $110 million.

“This decision is endorsed by Brock’s board of trustees, but it is driven by the motivation of our partners to assist Brock, and also by the unmet and growing need that still exists,” said Lightstone. “We must remain committed to sustaining our momentum to positively impact the cultural, social and economic well-being of Brock, Niagara and Canada,”

Extending the capital campaign will include support for the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts and Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex projects, as well as raise money for the new home of the Goodman School of Business, and Brock’s strategic plan.

Bold New Brock, the largest fundraising and advocacy campaign ever undertaken by the University, was launched in March 2009 to increase endowments for student financial assistance, invest in teaching and research facilities, expand knowledge and empower faculty as educator-researchers building intellectual capacity.

The campaign had an even loftier goal of strengthening Brock’s relationships with its alumni, benefactors, governments and the community, to create invaluable academic assets that will benefit Niagara and all Canadians economically, socially and culturally for generations to come.

David Petis, Brock’s Vice-President Advancement, said the University is proud that many of the 14,000 campaign gifts have come from Brock faculty, staff and students, whom he called “the foundation of the success.”

“It has been amazing to see the support of so many help raise the level of philanthropy at Brock,” he said.

Highlights of the Bold New Brock capital campaign to date include:

* approximately 185 new student awards and the creation of 13 new athletic awards

* more than 25 newly named spaces, including the Marilyn I. Walker School of Fine and Performing Arts, Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex and Goodman School of Business

* Brock’s endowment fund has doubled from $28.6 in 2008 to $57.2 million today

* construction of the Matheson Learning Commons, used by thousands of students on a daily basis

* 87.4 per cent of the gifts received through the Bold New Brock campaign have been directed to priority projects of the institution