TO:

FROM:

Faculty Senate
Janet Bingham, PhD
President, GMU Foundation
Vice President, GMU Advancement and Alumni Relations

SUBJECT: Faculty Senate Resolution

I am writing this letter, at the request of President Cabrera, in response to
the questions raised in the third Faculty Senate resolution (dated May 4)
submitted by Suzanne Slayden.
In response to the first question from the resolution, all details related to
the recent $20 million naming gift in support of the law school were
reviewed and vetted by a majority of members of the Gift Acceptance
Committee. This committee currently includes individuals from the
George Mason University Foundation, the Universitys administration, as
well as an academic dean. The review of this agreement did include a
review of University Policy 1123. The committee's role is simply to advise
the president of the university.
In response to the second and third questions from the resolution,
University Policy 1123 does not pertain to the Gift Agreement between the
anonymous donor and the Foundation. There is a specific requirement in
this policy that capital giftsmeaning those contributed in support of
building facilitiesare subject to specific restrictions regarding naming.
Included in those restrictions is a requirement that 50 percent of the
committed funding be paid prior to any naming rights being conferred.
The law school gift is not a capital gift, as it is in support of tuition
scholarships rather than building facilities, and, therefore, is not subject to
this requirement.
In response to the fourth question from the resolution, there is always some
risk when accepting a gift of this size, because the money is generally paid

out over several years. That is standard practice at most universities. If an

unusual situation were to arise in which a donor could not fulfill their
commitment, the university would work with the donor to revise the
original agreement or exercise any number of options, both legal and
administrative, at its disposal.
In sum, like all gifts to Mason, the process for acceptance of the law school
gift aligns with the universitys current gift acceptance policy and with best
industry practices as set forth by the Association of Fundraising
Professionals (AFP), the Council for Advancement and Support of
Education (CASE) and other philanthropic-minded bodies.
Recognizing our rapid and extensive philanthropic growth, combined with
the knowledge that the current gift acceptance policy had not been
modified since 2010, the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations
began the process of reviewing and updating the current gift acceptance
policy prior to any discussions related to the recent law school gift. We are
continuing this work, and will be meeting with the chair of the Faculty
Senate to discuss faculty representation in this effort.
Mason is growing, and philanthropy has become more important to the
universitys mission, especially now that we are an R1 research institution.
While we still have work to do to catch up with our peers, we are finishing
our fourth consecutive record-breaking fundraising year, and we expect
that trend to continue.