-Jean-Lou Chameau,
President

The end of a campaign is always a time for celebration and recognition-to celebrate achieving our goal, and to recognize the many people who made that achievement possible with their financial contributions and wise counsel. I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to everyone who so generously supported the most ambitious fund-raising effort in the Institute's history.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." I am very fond of this quote from Margaret Mead, because I think it describes Caltech so well. Yet, although we are small in numbers of students and faculty, there is nothing small about the impact of our work. And there was certainly nothing small about the scope of our "There's only one. Caltech" campaign.

Of course, Gordon and Betty Moore's unprecedented gift inspired us to set our goals high. The Moore Foundation's generosity alone has launched 20 research centers or initiatives, all of which will help Caltech to keep pushing the boundaries of human knowledge.

We need look no further than the campus itself to see some of the tangible results of this campaign: three new buildings are under construction, and two of our oldest structures have been renovated. These new facilities will provide our researchers with state-of-the-art laboratories to tackle fundamental scientific questions and to develop ingenious inventions and solutions to society's pressing problems.

In addition to expanding our physical plant, this campaign has directly impacted research and education by enhancing the opportunities offered to our faculty and students. One example among many: the $8.5 million raised for the SURF program endowment will fund more than 130 student research fellowships in summer 2008.

I applaud the Campaign Leadership Committee for inspiring many of our longtime friends to give generously, and also for welcoming 6,250 new benefactors to the Caltech community. I also gratefully acknowledge the tireless efforts of campaign chairman Wally Weisman and honorary chairman Gordon Moore, who kept us moving toward our goal. And, of course, I must thank David Baltimore, who as Caltech's president in 2002 envisioned what the campaign should achieve and set it on a successful trajectory.

As we celebrate the conclusion of six years of intense work, we should keep in mind that the ending of one phase is also the beginning of the next. Our focus must now shift toward increasing Caltech's endowment, something we must do to remain at the pinnacle of scientific research and education. With so many loyal supporters, who understand our needs and believe in the power of a few people to make a big difference, we can only succeed.