On Feb. 27, the University of Utah tweeted a video titled “Love, U,” contributing to a soft launch of the University Advancement Office’s Love, U campaign.

“We are in the final year of the University of Utah’s capital campaign, which is Imagine New Heights,” said the Deputy Chief Philanthropy Officer for Marketing Communications for the Advancement Office, Ben Tomlin. “We were looking for a way to express our gratitude for those people who have done so much to support the university.”

According to Tomlin, Imagine New Heights began in 2014 but was not publicly announced until 2018 with the inauguration of former President Ruth Watkins. The campaign has served to raise money for the U and has surpassed $2 billion in donations. 2022 is the last year of Imagine New Heights.

Love, U is a way to begin concluding the program; it is a way to show gratitude and love for the community within the U.

“Love, U is a campaign rooted in our community’s deep connection to the University of Utah and is aimed at helping us all grow together,” said the Director of Communications and Marketing for the College of Fine Arts Marina Gomberg, in an interview via email.

She was asked to serve on the committee to brand the next iteration of the U’s major fundraising campaign.

“It’s a love note,” Gomberg said. “An invitation to express adoration. It’s an expression of the appreciation the institution feels for all those who have exchanged knowledge, trusted, visited, and/or supported our state’s flagship institution.”

However, Love, U is more than a way to express gratitude for the U’s community.

“As trite as it may be, I think the Love, U campaign is a bold movement toward unity in a world that is too often fueled by division,” Gomberg said. “Unabashed expressions of love and connection are always welcomed by me, especially when it involves an institution from which I got my education and get to serve in my career.”

Along with the video, which features individuals from across campus, Love, U has been and continues to be celebrated in a few ways.

Various U social media pages from Instagram to Twitter have captioned posts using “#LoveU2022.”

Love, U also was featured in the Philanthropy Fair on March 1, as a part of U Giving Day.

In addition, there is a Love, U website. The website exists for people to share with the U what they love either in a note or a video.

Tomlin said that all of this is only the beginning of the Love, U campaign.

“We have the people who were depicted in that video, plus more,” he said. “We have gathered stories on them individually and corporately. Over the course of this year, you will see faces, and people and stories of interests and passions crop up, sprinkled in social media. It’ll either come from the university at large or maybe from a department.”

Tomlin hopes that Love, U can be used as a way to make a difference together.

“I think that love is a powerful emotion,” Tomlin said. “Different people are going to feel about it differently, but I do think that everybody has something that they are passionate about. I would hope that’s what has brought them to a university. To pursue a way to equip themselves to make a difference in the world.”

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