Michigan State University Passes $1B In Fundraising Campaign

EAST LANSING (AP) — Michigan State University has announced it surpassed the $1 billion mark in its major fundraising campaign.

The East Lansing school said Friday it overtook that milestone last month toward its larger goal of raising $1.5 billion. Michigan State makes the announcement about a year after launching the public phase of the capital campaign that began in 2011.

One major mission of the effort is to boost the university's endowed faculty professorship and chair positions. When the school started the campaign, officials say the school's number of endowed faculty positions was among the Big Ten's lowest.

Scholarship and fellowship funds also have been created during the campaign.

University officials say roughly 221,000 people have donated, including about 105,000 alumni.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.