By ANTHONY NEWMAN

The historic occasion of Juilliard's centennial this year offers not only an important opportunity to celebrate the School's past achievements, but also to identify projects and initiatives that will allow Juilliard to build on its tradition of excellence as the School enters its second century. To that end, after a carefully considered two-year review of Juilliard's needs and resources, the School's board of trustees voted on May 10, 2005 to raise the goal of The Campaign for Juilliard to $300 million from $150 million and to give it a more apt identity as the Juilliard Second Century Fund. The successful conclusion of this ambitious effort, scheduled to coincide with the completion of Juilliard's building expansion in 2009, will entail substantially enhanced scholarship funds, additional endowed faculty chairs, bolstered program endowments, and a much more functional and architecturally dramatic Juilliard building.

Juilliard launched The Campaign for Juilliard in 1999 to ensure that its students thrive during their time at the School and as they prepare for and embark on their careers. The Campaign, whose original goal of $100 million was increased to $150 million in 2001, sought to increase the School's endowments in the critical areas of scholarship funds and faculty advancement; to create endowed funds to support new commissions and the non-performance aspects of a Juilliard education; and to subsidize modest facility enhancements. Gratifying donor response to The Campaign for Juilliard has resulted in the creation of four endowed faculty chairs; enhanced programs in the humanities; new initiatives in student mentoring and career development; more than $78 million in new scholarship endowment; the renovation of the Lila Acheson Wallace Library; and a base of support for an ongoing program of new commissions in dance, drama, and music, the first fruits of which are being presented as highlights of this year's Centennial season.

Thanks to the extraordinary show of support from the many individuals and organizations who have contributed to the Juilliard Second Century Fund, the School can look toward its next 100 years with tremendous optimism.

The Juilliard Second Century Fund entails a reallocation (and slight reconfiguration) of The Campaign for Juilliard's five principal components. The primary goal of the Campaign, to expand Juilliard's scholarship endowment, has been increased from $78 million to $84 million, and faculty compensation from $24 million to $28 million. The goals will remain constant for the June Noble Larkin Program for the Humanities ($10 million), which has been fully funded by the Edward John Noble Foundation, and the Creative Process ($10 million). These initiatives, separate areas of the Campaign, have been joined by two new components, Jazz ($10 million) and Educational Outreach ($5 million) under the category of Educational Initiatives. An $18 million goal for unrestricted gifts, added when the goal was increased to $150 million, remains the same, while a new component for Special Purposes ($10 million) has been added.

One greatly expanded initiative in the Juilliard Second Century Fund pertains to Juilliard's physical plant. Juilliard's building is nearly 40 years old, and while enrollment remains level, the creation of the Jazz Studies program in 2001 and the natural growth of existing programs over time have made it clear that more space is needed. In 2003, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts announced that it would renovate the facilities adjacent to 65th Street and create a more vibrant area around its North Plaza. Part of this plan included an expansion of the Alice Tully Hall lobby, over which Juilliard would have the opportunity to add to its building. The timing of Lincoln Center's project, the ability to gain needed new space, and the incentive of a matching-gift program through Lincoln Center led Juilliard to undertake a lengthy review of its space needs and potential financial support. As the plans for Juilliard's centennial program and the attendant potential for increased awareness of the School came into focus, the board of trustees felt that this convergence of factors came at an opportune time to focus our efforts on reaching a new campaign goal of $300 million. Reflecting the scope of the project, the goal for the Physical Plant component of the Juilliard Second Century Fund has therefore been substantially increased, from $10 million to $125 million.

I am pleased to report that we have received several recent major gifts, totaling $77 million, in support of the Juilliard Second Century Fund. Members of the Juilliard community who attended last month's convocation heard the official announcement of a historic $25 million grant to the Juilliard Second Century Fund from the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, and the renaming of the Juilliard Theater as the Peter Jay Sharp Theater in recognition of the magnitude of the grant and the importance of Peter Jay Sharp and the Foundation that bears his name to the life of the School.

Bruce Kovner, chairman of Juilliard's board of trustees, has also made an extremely generous grant of $25 million to the Juilliard Second Century Fund.

Another loyal friend of the School, the Irene Diamond Fund, has made a grant of $20 million to the Juilliard Second Century Fund. In recognition of the outstanding generosity of Irene Diamond and the expansion of her legacy at Juilliard through the Irene Diamond Fund, Juilliard will be honored to name the new wing to be constructed during its upcoming expansion as the Irene Diamond Building.

Juilliard has gratefully received a grant of $5 million from Rosemary Willson. Mrs. Willson provided funding for the construction of the Meredith Willson Residence Hall, named in honor of her late husband, a Juilliard alumnus. In appreciation for her continued commitment to Juilliard, the School will name the state-of-the-art multimedia theater to be housed in the expanded building's new wing as the Rosemary and Meredith Willson Theater. Juilliard trustee Lester S. Morse Jr. and his wife Enid have made a gift of $2 million in support of the Juilliard Second Century Fund. In appreciation for their gift, Juilliard will be pleased to designate the spacious and comfortable new student lounge, one of the highlights of the renovation and expansion project, in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Morse Jr.

The combination of $77 million in new gifts to the Juilliard Second Century Fund with $133 million in funds raised between 1999 and the present under The Campaign for Juilliard brings the total raised for the Juilliard Second Century Fund to $210 million. Thanks to the extraordinary show of support from the many individuals and organizations who have contributed to these efforts, Juilliard can look toward its second century with tremendous optimism.

Anthony J. Newman is the vice president for development and public affairs.