THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS of the recommendations embodied in the Tufts-Carnegie Self-Study were almost too great to digest for those most familiar with the shoestring resources on which the institution had historically operated. A 33 percent increase in annual operating budgets alone was called for. Another capital campaign of much greater magnitude than that of the Second Century Fund of the early 1950s was absolutely necessary. So, in the spring of 1958 the president recommended to the trustees a drive to raise $11 million over a ten-year period. But after an outside financial consulting firm had reviewed the potential sources for such an amount and expressed doubt that Tufts would be able to raise so much, the total was scaled down to $7.5 million. The Tufts University Program (known also as the "Tufts Development Program"), had as its slogan "Building for Greatness."

The final allocations included $4.2 million for physical plant and facilities, $1.9 million for faculty salaries (instead of the original $2.6 million recommended), and $900,000 for student aid. Half a million was earmarked for the medical school to complete the medical research (Eclipse) building, but none for the dental school, for which a separate campaign was to be conducted. The amount of the total goal tended to fluctuate; in 1960 it was set at slightly less than $7 million.

The public relations firm of Kersting, Brown and Co. was employed to advertise the institution. After investigating the situation the firm concluded that the "good gray image" of Tufts, as one faculty member described it, vastly underrated the institution. It might not be as great as the Ivy League was advertised as being, but it had entirely too low an estimate of itself. Ever since its founding Tufts had lived under the shadow of Harvard and had suffered from a chronic institutional inferiority complex. It was entirely too reluctant to call public attention to its own merits. Wessell was very much aware of this and set about to remedy the deficiency in public relations. He began to talk about Tufts as not merely a "small university of high quality" but, beginning in 1960, as "on the threshold of greatness."

In his inaugural address in 1953, Wessell had referred to Tufts as being "on the threshold of great things." This widely disseminated

Nonetheless, the capital fund was a success; the final goal of $7,550,000 had not only been reached but exceeded slightly when the campaign came to an end in 1963. Wessell was able to announce on President's Day in March 1963 that the total was a gratifying $7,605,675, and that regular solicitation for the annual Alumni Fund was continuing without interruption. The president considered the sum "a large one for Tufts" and expressed great satisfaction with the outcome.

In order to assure trustee support and involvement in the campaign, an ad hoc Development Commitee had been created in 1957 and was made a standing committee two years later. The campaign did not include the dental school because its needs - an entirely new building - were thought to be so great that the amount necessary for that alone would have dwarfed the entire campaign. The exact amount needed was also in doubt, pending the result of an application for federal funds. The fund-raising drive for the new dental school building lagged badly, and was still in progress a decade later. Less than $6 million had been raised by 1973. The success of the Tufts University Program was due in many ways not only to the president but to Trustee Carl Gilbert, the general chairman of the campaign, and particularly to the leadership of Trustee Albert W. Vanderhoof. A Tufts graduate, he served as National Organization Chairman and had served a decade earlier as chairman of the Second Century Fund drive. Vanderhoof considered the fundraising goal as "relatively conservative and specifically tailored to Tufts' needs and Tufts' potential." He also pointed out that, even with the publicity accompanying the campaign, the institution's visibility was still basically regional rather than national.

The bulk of the proceeds from the Tufts University Program was promptly put to use, as planned, for physical improvements. New wings were added to Barnum Hall and to the Pearson Memorial Chemistry building. The new funds helped to expand sorely needed facilities in the Fletcher School and contributed to the building of a new university library. As Wessell told the trustees, Tufts was "no longer a tin-cup institution."