The University of Cambridge said today that it had become the first university outside of the United States to generate £1-billion through fund raising. (That’s the equivalent of $1.7-billion, based on an average rate of exchange over the duration of the campaign.) The milestone, which the institution reached two years ahead of its scheduled goal, caps a campaign that was publicly announced in 2005 and was timed to coincide with celebrations of the university’s 800th birthday.

Peter Agar, director of development and alumni relations at the university, said its fund-raising success had put Cambridge in select company. The university places in the top five of most world university rankings, he noted, and “we intend our fund raising to be up there, too, because we understand that if we are going to continue to sustain our top position, we have to be able to invest at the same level as our peers.” The campaign has been conducted jointly among the central university and its 31 constituent colleges, with the money raised going toward student scholarships and grants, new buildings for research, teacher and student housing, and endowed professorships and other teaching positions, says the university’s news release.