The building boom continued this year. A huge yellow crane towering over Widener Library greeted students returning in the fall. The Maxwell Dworkin building on Oxford Street, funded by donations from Microsoft leaders William H. Gates III, Class of 1977, and Steven A. Ballmer '77, was dedicated as a computer science center in October.

Last semester's reconstruction of the Memorial Hall tower was criticized by some students as extravagant, even though the University could not redirect the $4 million targeted gift.

But despite the physical changes, administrators said the growth of financial aid is the most significant effect of the campaign.

Financial aid packages for undergraduates were boosted by $2,000 thanks to the $225 million raised for financial aid during the campaign.

Administrators note that in the year before the campaign started the College gave $35 million in financial aid. This year, the figure was $53 million.

"The dividend from these investments [in financial aid] will be felt in every classroom, in every athletic team and orchestra and in every aspect of the College," said Dean of the Faculty Jeremy R. Knowles.

Other money from the campaign went to improve undergraduate education, including 28 new faculty positions and funding for more teaching fellow positions to decrease section size.

But the campaign fell short of its goal of 40 new endowed professorships in FAS. The high cost--$2.5 million per professor--discouraged many donors, along with a preference for more tangible, brick-and-mortar results.

The money has also reshaped the other schools. New centers proliferated, like Kennedy School of Government's Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy or its Carr Center for Human Rights Policies, along with new professorships and fellowship money.

Knowles said the new funds have helped FAS inaugurate its most important new initiatives.

"What our donors have given us is nothing less than the freedom to bloom," he said.

But while $2.7 billion might seem like a lot, Harvard administrators say they cannot rest on their laurels.

"We have a moment we can grasp, for we have been extraordinarily fortunate in the timing of our campaign," Knowles said late last year. "We can't stand still. Standing still is not an option."

One of the most significant remaining projects is in serious jeopardy. The proposed Knafel Center for Government and International Studies on Cambridge Street hit a wall of neighborhood opposition this year. The building, which will ease crowding in the Littauer Center, is being reviewed by the city.

Knowles said new fundraising must begin again because a large majority of the campaign's funds are devoted to specific projects.