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AROUND THE QUADSRoar Lion, Roar
Trustees Chair Bill Campbell ’62 (left) and President Lee C. Bollinger helped launch The Columbia Campaign for Athletics. Photo: Gene Boyars 
ATHLETICS CAMPAIGN : Columbia launched a $100 million fundraising initiative, The Columbia Campaign for Athletics: Achieving Excellence, on October 12 and announced two leadership pledges, $10 million from University Trustees Chair Bill Campbell ’62 and $5 million from Trustee Emeritus Robert K. Kraft ’63, chairman and CEO of The Kraft Group and owner of the New England Patriots of the National Football League. In recognition of Kraft’s gift, the playing field at Columbia’s Lawrence A. Wien Stadium at the Baker Field Athletics Complex has been renamed Robert K. Kraft Field. The athletics campaign is part of The Columbia Campaign, a $4 billion University-wide effort launched in fall 2006 that also includes the $865 million Columbia Campaign for Undergraduate Education, announced in September. More than $2.4 billion already has been raised for the overall campaign. “The effort made by Columbia student-athletes enriches their own educational experiences even as it brings us closer as a University community,” said President Lee C. Bollinger at the launch of the athletics campaign. “This campaign aims to make participation in athletics as meaningful and successful as possible.” Campbell and Kraft played varsity football at Columbia, and Campbell was captain of the team in 1961 when it tied for the Ivy League championship — Columbia’s only Ivy crown. He also was the team’s head coach from 1974–79. “Columbia University is committed to excellence in all of its programs and departments, including athletics,” said Campbell. “My gift, like the campaign as a whole, is intended to help the athletics program provide the best possible experience for Columbians today and tomorrow.” “I am proud to support Columbia University and Columbia Athletics in particular,” said Kraft, who also is a principal benefactor of the Kraft Family Center for Jewish Student Life (Columbia/Barnard Hillel) and creator of the Kraft Family Fund for Interfaith and Intercultural Awareness. “Lessons learned through athletic competition and teamwork can be invaluable lifelong educational experiences for students.” M. Dianne Murphy, director of intercollegiate athletics and physical education, listed the goals of the athletics campaign as endowing coaching and administrative positions; investing in facilities, including a new sports center to be built at the Baker Field Athletics Complex; and creating endowments and annual giving fund programs to support ongoing operations and fund innovative programs that enhance the student-athlete experience.
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