Duquesne University yesterday announced it was entering the public phase of a campaign to raise $150 million for campus endeavors, including $50 million to create need-based scholarships.

After a meeting of school directors, officials including President Charles J. Dougherty said the private phase of the drive, which began in 2003, has raised $84 million to date.

University officials hope the remainder of its "Advancing Our Legacy" campaign can be raised by June 2012. During the meeting, directors also awarded Dr. Dougherty a third five-year contract through 2016.

To date, more than 47,800 have donated to Duquesne's drive. The largest gift from an individual so far is $2.2 million from a donor who asked not to be named, and the largest foundation award thus far is $2 million from the R.K. Mellon Foundation, officials said.

Dr. Dougherty said it's hard to predict how stock market turmoil and the souring economy might impact giving, but Duquesne decided to go forward. He noted that the university had just finished the best fund-raising quarter in its history, raising $8.1 million.

"This could last another nine months. This could be over tomorrow," he said of the economic upheaval. "We didn't want to try to bet on where the economy is going."

The largest share of the campaign -- $70 million -- is for "academic excellence" initiatives including endowed chairs and professorships, program support and classroom and lab renovations, said John Plante, vice president for university advancement.

The next largest portion -- $50 million -- is to build a Legacy Fund of scholarships for students "who otherwise would not be able to afford Duquesne," Dr. Dougherty said.

"This is especially appealing to our alums," he said. "Many of them received scholarships, so they know what a difference it made in their lives."

Another $30 million will go toward student life initiatives.

Duquesne is not the only major university in the city raising money amid a worsening economy. The University of Pittsburgh has raised about $1.3 billion toward its $2 billion campaign goal. Carnegie Mellon University is expected to go public later this month with a drive that some on campus have said will be in the $1 billion range.

Rae Goldsmith, spokeswoman for the New York City-based Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, said fund-raisers in July were projecting continued but slower growth in giving. She said it's too soon to know how the market turmoil of recent days will affect that.

Voluntary support to colleges grew by 6.3 percent in 2007 to $29.8 billion, she said. Citing data from the Council for Aid to Education, she said fund-raising gains have averaged 7 percent yearly the last two decades.