By Andy Dahn

BLOOMINGTON – Illinois State University raised a total of $36.8 million through private fundraising last year, nearly doubling a previous high.

President Larry Dietz told WJBC’s Terry James the record breaking amount is a culmination of good things happening at the university, including higher student enrollment.

“We had the largest freshmen class in 25 years this last fall,” Dietz said. “But for our alums and individuals who have written us checks, this is a real vote of confidence in the stature of the institution and the good work that’s happening here as a result of hard work from the students studying in the classroom and the faculty and staff that teach those classes and serve those students.”

The school brought in donations from nearly 1200 first time donors.  The money goes to student scholarships and academic programs. Dietz said many thanks are in order

“Obviously huge thanks go out to all of the individuals that donated,” Dietz said. “A big thanks to corporations and foundations that wrote us checks as well, we are absolutely delighted about this.”

Dietz called the lack of a current state budget frustrating. The university is currently awaiting an approved amount of funding from the state.

“I’m optimistic that it will hopefully be a high number,” said Dietz. “That would mean essentially less of an increase on the reduction side. But we’ll see what happens with all of that. Whatever we get, we’ll be thankful for the amount of money that we’ve received.”

Dietz said fundraising allows the university to put money where it’s most needed. He also added that he’s hopeful the return of ISU students for fall classes will provide a positive boost to the local economy.

Andy Dahn can be reached at [email protected].