Because of the incredible contributions from Tech alumni, this is turning out to be the most successful fundraising year in the university’s history.

With Hurricane Katrina to blame for numerous state-wide budget cuts and anticipated “donor fatigue,” indications last August pointed toward this being a disastrous year in fundraising. However, it was quite the contrary, with the Louisiana Tech University Foundation having received a 39 percent rise in contributions and a 37 percent rise in total revenue this year thus far, all because of Tech alumni.

These figures speak well of Tech alumni, which have always been supportive of the university. However, in light of the tremendous financial strains suffered because of recent crises, our alumni reacted by donating more generously than ever before. It seems evident that Tech graduates love the university.

However, recent achievements have only increased Tech’s legacy and thus broadened an ever-growing commitment by alumni to maintain the university’s value for generations to come.

As Tech rose to Tier III in U.S. News & World Report: America’s Best Colleges, Tech alumni take pride in knowing that the value of Tech’s education grows.

According to www.usnews.com, U.S. News & World Report narrows down 1,400 institutions to the 248 nationally recognized colleges. From this, 86 are private and 162 are public universities. Tech’s ranking in the third tier is among the top 125-180 of the 248 universities.

Tech President Dan Reneau said the hurricane only added a sympathy factor to this year’s contributions, and the main reason alumni contributed so generously is because of the knowledge of Tech’s great achievements.

“Tech’s alumni and their contributions have been a great compliment to our faculty, staff and students here,” Reneau said. “They’re giving back because of what they received.”

Corre Stegall, vice president for University Advancement, is due a special thanks for her work as the head of the fundraising effort.

In the end, the university has continuously progressed, proving triumphant, with our generous alumni largely to thank for Tech’s past, present and future success.