Efforts to raise funds for a $50 million building for Kansas University’s School of Business will become more aggressive over the next year, the school’s dean said Thursday.

William Fuerst, dean of the school, said the fundraising campaign is set to enter its second stage, which will mean nearly every alumnus from the school will be contacted about the project.

“We’re moving ahead at full speed,” Fuerst said.

The news comes as a prominent donor for the project announced KU had not been successful in meeting the matching requirements of a $10 million pledge for the building construction.

Kent McCarthy, founder and CEO of Jayhawk Capital Management – along with his wife Missy McCarthy – made a $10 million pledge to the project in October 2006. The pledge had a requirement that KU raise $15 million in matching funds by March 31.

Jim McMullen, chief operating officer for McCarthy’s Jayhawk Capital Management, said the university had not been successful in matching the pledge. But McMullen said McCarthy was still interested in making a major contribution to the project, especially if there are signs that fundraising efforts are gaining momentum.

McMullen said that seemed to be the case and that McCarthy believed there was a chance some state funding could be made available to the project.

“It was somewhat ambiguous to us what the state funding could be, but with a fair amount of private backing, that seemed possible,” McMullen said.

Fuerst stopped short of saying that KU leaders had begun working to secure state funding for a new building. Instead, he said fundraisers were committed to raising all the private money they could, and then would determine whether other options needed to be pursued.

Business school leaders said the project is badly needed because the 1950s-era Summerfield Hall is lacking in both size and modern technology.

Fuerst said the school wants a state-of-the art building with technology and amenities that students would experience at corporate headquarters and other business environments.

A site has not been announced, but Fuerst said school leaders would like it to be on the main campus.

Fuerst declined to say how much the school had raised for the project.

“But we have made very significant progress on that ($15 million) match,” Fuerst said.