Private gifts and gifts-in-kind to the University of Oklahoma are expected to total more than $140 million by the end of this fiscal year, OU President David L. Boren announced today at the June meeting of the OU Board of Regents in Ardmore.  
 
The projected total of $141.2 million for fiscal year 2012 includes new gifts to OU’s Campaign for Scholarships, which is nearing $200 million in gifts toward the goal of $250 million and almost $20 million in gifts and pledges toward the $35 million private fund-raising goal for Headington Hall, a 230,000-square-foot housing center for OU students and student-athletes. The success of OU’s scholarship campaign has allowed the University to more than double its private scholarships in the past five years.
 
“I am grateful to all the donors to the University of Oklahoma who make so many of our accomplishments possible,” said Boren.  “Especially because we continue in an economic downturn, it is remarkable to have donors come forward so generously to provide support for projects and other priorities like scholarships.”

Headington Hall, which is under construction on the southeast corner of Jenkins Avenue and Lindsey Street, is named for OU alumnus and tennis letterman Tim Headington, who made a $10 million lead gift for the student housing center.  Aside from those listed above, others whose gifts are or exceed $500,000 include former OU football standouts Adrian Peterson and Sam Bradford, as well as J.D. Lewis of Healdton, Okla., the Rippeto Family Foundation of Dallas, the Chickasaw Nation of Ada, the Greathouse Foundation of Abilene, Texas, and Ty Hartwig of Edmond.  Another 20 individual major donors have made gift commitments of at least $100,000.

The state-of-the-art facility, which mirrors the architecture of OU’s most historic and beautiful buildings, will include a central dining hall, computer labs, seminar rooms, space for tutoring and studying, as well as a Faculty-in-Residence unit.  Retail shops and restaurants will be located on the ground floor.

The residential hall will house close to 400 students, 49 percent of them student-athletes and 51 percent non-athletes. The new dormitory is scheduled to open in August 2013.

The remaining funding for the $75 million project will come from revenue bonds.