Ford family donates to athletics department

The University athletics department received a gift from the Ford family, the University announced in a press release Tuesday.

William Clay Ford, Jr. ’79 and Lisa Vanderzee Ford ’82 have endowed the director of athletics position, which will now be known as the Bill and Lisa Ford Family Directorship of Athletics. Current athletic director Gary Walters ’67 will remain in this position.

The Ford Family endowment establishes a discretionary fund that will allow Walters to “identify and support strategic initiatives across Princeton’s athletics department, including varsity and recreational programs,” the press release said.

“The Princeton athletics department and I are profoundly honored,” Walters said in the press release. “Through this transformative gift, Lisa and Bill have endorsed our goals and values, most especially Princeton’s unique programmatic commitment to education through athletics.”

“The reality is that Princeton Athletics is not rolling in money, regardless of the University’s endowment,” the Office of Athletic Communications said on its official blog. “There are all kinds of limitations to what Princeton — and schools everywhere — has been able to do because of monetary limitations, and the need to fundraise is ever present.”

“On a yearly basis the athletic department will assess the temporary needs that have to be addressed, such as minor facility improvements, professional development, out-of-region travel costs for our varsity sports, temporary staffing, the Academic-Athletic Fellows program and support of additional programming that contributes to the athletic department’s main mission of ‘Education Through Athletics,’ etc.,” Walters said in an email.

While most of the funding is expected to go to varsity teams, Walters added that the funding could benefit club teams and other campus recreational activities.

“Although the Ford family has a preference for intercollegiate athletic use, it is conceivable that some of the funds can be targeted for other departmental and recreational needs,” Walters said. “There is no predetermined percentage of targeted funding that will be allocated within the comprehensive program that is Princeton athletics.”

The Ford family’s gift is part of Aspire, the University’s five-year fundraising campaign, which is on track to reach its goal of raising $1.75 billion by June 2012. Although the amount was undisclosed, University Spokesperson Martin Mbugua said that the Fords’ gift falls under the “Princeton Experience” target area. To date, the Aspire campaign has raised $1.525 billion, which is 87 percent of its goal.

“The Fords’ gift is the capstone in the athletics component of our Aspire fundraising campaign, which has increased our capacity to help our student athletes to flourish,” President Shirley Tilghman said in the press release.

Bill Ford is executive chairman of Ford Motor Company and vice chairman of the Detroit Lions professional football team. He earned an undergraduate degree in history at Princeton and a Master of Science degree in management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

A former Princeton University trustee, Ford currently serves as a member of the Princeton Varsity Club board of directors and has served as a volunteer for Annual Giving, Princeton’s yearly fundraising campaign.