Ohio State sets largest fundraising goal in 150 years. | Credit: Lantern file photo

Ohio State’s next major fundraising effort aims to raise $4.5 billion from at least 1 million donors — the largest fundraising goal in Ohio State’s 150 years, according to a press release.

The campaign, called Time and Change, launched publicly Friday and will center on three themes: student success, discovery, and healthy, vibrant communities.

The “quiet phase” of the campaign launched in October 2016 and has raised $1.7 billion from 500,000 donors so far, according to the release.

The exact length of the campaign has not been determined, but University President Michael V. Drake said he expects it to last several years.

He said the focuses of the campaign aim to build on what the university does well. The student success portion of the campaign will focus heavily, though not exclusively, on access and affordability; the discovery portion will focus on research; and the healthy communities portion will focus primarily on health services, such as through the Wexner Medical Center at Ohio State.

“I’m amazed honestly by some of the stories. I hear the real miracles that happen in our medical center — that’s great,” Drake said. “We want to just do a better job of that, and frankly, new and expanded facilities will help us provide more care at the highest level to more people in our community broadly.”

The campaign will have several student leaders, including Imran Nuri, a fourth-year in marketing who said he has pursued his passion for philanthropy throughout his time at Ohio State. Nuri served as president of BuckeyeThon, a student-run philanthropic organization for pediatric cancer, during his third year and said he is passionate about philanthropy.

Nuri said he hopes this campaign will make Ohio State a better place for generations to come.

“I had an awesome experience at Ohio State, and it would make me the happiest to know that somebody else who’s younger than me is having that same experience and more,” he said. “I know that in order to have that ‘more,’ it takes people giving,” he said.

Drake said these student leaders will provide essential input in creating a successful grassroots campaign.

“Students are really at the heart of the university, and we can’t be our best unless the students who are at the heart of our university are a part of helping us define and then manifest and exemplify our best behavior,” he said.