OMAHA — Creighton University is starting the largest fund-raising campaign in its 127-year history with the hope of generating $350 million.

Creighton is earmarking the money for its eastward expansion plans and academic programs. School officials hope the campaign can help elevate Creighton to elite status among Catholic universities.

“There comes a time in the life of any institution when all the vital indicators are going forward, and you dream big dreams and envision a new and brighter future,” said the Rev. John P. Schlegel, president of Creighton. “Creighton is on the cusp of new beginnings, we are on the threshold of a bold tomorrow and we are forging a second founding of the university. This is our moment of possibility.”

The campaign was announced at a dinner Saturday attended by more than 500 persons at the Qwest Center.

A total of $226 million already has been pledged, the school said. A 25 million gift is coming from the estates of Gilbert and Clinton Beirne, brothers who graduated from the Creighton School of Medicine in the 1940s and practice dermatology in California. The Peter Kiewit Foundation has pledged $17 million.

School officials said Creighton hopes to move away from dependency on tuition income. While public universities are moving quickly in that direction, Creighton is one of a small number of private universities to adopt this model, officials said.

“With this campaign, we believe we can bring Creighton to a place of national pre-eminence and impact that none of us thought possible just a few years ago,” Schlegel said. “We have found great enthusiasm for this vision here in Omaha, because of Creightons deep ties to the city and region and the universitys central role as an agent of positive change in downtown Omaha.”

Creighton, founded in 1878, is located on a 108-acre campus next to downtown. It has an enrollment of more than 6,700.

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Creighton University: http://www.creighton.edu