Campaign Bulletin - November 2009In This IssueDear Friends:
You are receiving this newsletter part way through a very exciting semester. The last leg of the Opportunity for a Lifetime campaign began in September with the wonderful announcement to Worcester State College’s three boards that the campaign had met the $10 million goal. I want to extend congratulations to you, our faithful donors, for helping us reach this historic milestone. (You will learn about the donor who took the campaign over the top in this newsletter.) But with over six months left in the campaign, members of the tri-boards understood why President Ashley and I believe the campaign should continue and the goal should be raised to $12 million. Simply put, our students need the campaign to go on.
Our outreach to more donors via the Annual Fund and phonathon has enjoyed strong early results. As you will read below, a special campaign in memory of Helen Shaughnessy ’43 will begin soon. Meanwhile, we continue to meet with more potential donors to share the need for more student scholarships and new academic development initiatives such as undergraduate research. You will find in this newsletter stories about both needs.
The endowment is in better shape than it was one year ago. I reported to the Board of Trustees and Worcester State Foundation Board of Directors recently that the endowment is up 12 percent from a year ago. The “laddered CD approach” for new gifts that I told you about last October has been phased out and these gifts are part of the endowment’s investment portfolio. The Foundation’s Treasurer, Ed Sherr, and the Endowment & Trust Committee continue their careful watch of the stock market for emerging opportunities and signs of concern.
I will never tire of saying that scholarships, academic development, and the unrestricted endowment—the priorities of the campaign—are central to the future of the College and our students. They need your support now more than ever! You can make a gift in support of one or more of these objectives—and help us reach the new $12 million goal—right now by clicking here. Thank you!
Sincerely,
 Thomas M. McNamara ’94
Vice President of Institutional Advancement 
Albert Pilon | Campaign Surges Past Goal with College’s Second $1M Gift A very generous $1 million bequest by Albert Pilon has helped push the Opportunity for a Lifetime campaign past its $10 million goal. “We are so very fortunate to have dedicated friends like Al Pilon who support the education and opportunity Worcester State College provides to so many,” said President Ashley. His gift is for student scholarships and will increase the number of students assisted by The Dr. A. Barbara Pilon Endowed Scholarship. Pilon previously established this endowed scholarship in memory of his wife, Barbara, who was a professor in the Education and Language and Literature departments for 22 years. This scholarship is awarded each year to an English major who is interested in becoming an English teacher. “The Dr. A. Barbara Pilon Endowed Scholarship has not only influenced my life financially, but it has encouraged me to never lose sight of my most important dreams and to follow through with my aspirations of becoming a professor of English,” the 2008 recipient, Kristin Yeager ’09, told Al Pilon. He has also donated Barbara’s vast book collection to the A. Barbara Pilon Seminar Room in the Languages and Literature Department. Back to Top |
George Tetler, chair of the Board of Trustees, thanks donors for their generosity at the Distinguished Donors Reception. | Donors Thanked for Outpouring of Support during Turbulent Times “We are gathered here tonight to shine the spotlight on you—our distinguished donors. We feel you deserve center stage for all that you do for Worcester State College,” Tom McNamara told a stage full of donors at the Distinguished Donors Reception held at the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts last month. Raising $3.2 million in the past 15 months was a remarkable achievement. “The Worcester State family is tremendously, tremendously grateful that in one of the most precarious years for our country—and the world—we could count on you, our loyal alumni and friends, to give to the Opportunity for a Lifetime campaign,” he said. McNamara credited Worcester State students and faculty for inspiring over 6,700 donors to give to the campaign. “So, tonight is our turn to give thanks to you who have made all things possible,” he said. Back to Top |
Scholarship recipient Kweku Acquah | Scholarship Recipients Tell Donors ‘Thank You’Worcester State College students were able to personally thank the individuals who are helping them earn a degree at the annual Scholarship Donors and Recipients Brunch on November 8. The event celebrates the success of a few hundred students who received a total of $220,000 in scholarship awards. “The growth of the scholarship program would not be possible without the support from alumni, foundations, corporations, and our faculty and staff,” said President Ashley. Alumni scholarship donors are ensuring today’s hardworking students have the same “Worcester State experience” they enjoyed, and scholarships created by friends of the College help future community residents prepare for better futures, according to Tom McNamara. Scholarship recipients are “the epitome of Worcester State’s industrious students,” he added. These scholarships are invaluable to the students who apply, according to Kweku Aquaku, the 2009 recipient of The Shirley Albert Endowed Scholarship and The National Grid Endowed Scholarship and 2007 recipient of The Gene J. DeFeudis Family Endowed Scholarship. “We know that without that help, we are going to struggle,” he said. You can learn more about our scholarships by visiting www.worcester.edu/scholarshipdirectory. To inquire about creating a scholarship, you may contact Camilla H. Caffrey, assistant vice president of Institutional Advancement, at 508-929-8141 or
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Dr. K. Soysa speaks to students at the 2008 Celebration of Scholarship. | Undergraduate Research Fosters ‘Deeper Learning’A growing number of faculty members are redesigning their courses to engage students in research projects, Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs Maureen Shamgochian told Campaign Committee members at a recent meeting. More students are directly involved in finding answers to challenging questions. In addition, students benefit from the closer relationships they form and ongoing conversations with their faculty researchers. “This results in deeper learning,” she added. “It is a high-impact experience that can transform their lives.” Committee members learned from faculty panelist—Associate Professor of Chemistry and Fulbright Scholar Dr. Margaret Kerr, Professor of Business Administration and Economics Dr. Jay Mahoney, Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Champika K. Soysa, and Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Brad Bryan—how they involve students in research. Several students provided firsthand accounts as well. “It keeps us active as faculty members” and steers students to graduate school, Kerr said. Dara Drawbridge ’06, who assisted Soysa with a research project about national identity and prejudice, said her work on that project, in particular, “opened the door to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice for me.” She is currently an adjunct professor of criminal justice and plans pursue a doctorate in criminal justice. (Drawbridge received the Arline Lanois O’Brien/Knight Memorial Scholarship in 2002 and the Paul J. Carnazza Scholarship in 2004.) Mahoney said research “is very important to all students.” The applied research projects done by her students include product development consulting for a local carpenter. Bryan’s students helped him with melanoma cell research. “If you have research experience as an undergraduate, it sets you apart,” Bryan said. “I want to make Worcester State students stand out.” To make a gift to undergraduate research, you may visit http://worcester.imodules.com/opportunity or contact Tom McNamara at 508-929-8033 or
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Helen G. Shaughnessy | Tribute to Helen G. Shaughnessy to ContinueWorcester State College will soon be inviting thousands of alumni who graduated between 1943 and 1986 to participate in the Helen G. Shaughnessy Memorial Challenge by making a gift to the Opportunity for a Lifetime campaign in Helen’s memory and in celebration of naming the renovated Administration Building after her. “Helen touched the lives of countless students during her decades’ long involvement with Worcester State, and many alumni and friends are loyal supporters of the College to this day because of her,” Tom McNamara said at the Distinguished Donors Reception. The Board of Trustees voted in June to name the Administration Building after Shaughnessy, and the Department of Higher Education approved over the summer. A committee has been formed to lead this special initiative, which will culminate with a formal building dedication in the spring. Click here to read more about the Board of Trustee’s vote. For more information, you may contact Camilla H. Caffrey, assistant vice president of Institutional Advancement, at 508-929-8141 or
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President Ashley with Amy Meltzer at the 2007 dedication of the Milton Meltzer Collection | WSC to Keep Legacy of Young Adult Author AliveWorcester State College is proud to be the future home of the Milton Meltzer Collection, as the estate of the late Milton Meltzer, a distinguished author raised in Worcester, is set to give his personal library of some 5,000 volumes to the College. Milton, who was awarded a Doctor of Humane Letters in 1997, said that he chose to bequeath his library to WSC because it has provided an outstanding college education to so many working-class Worcester residents. “I have the feeling that your student body includes many young people whose origins are like mine,” he noted. “It would please me immensely if I could be of help to them with such a gift.” Milton, a graduate of Classical High School, won a scholarship to Columbia University at age 17 and lived and worked in New York City. His young adult works address such issues as poverty, religion, crime, peace, discrimination, and slavery. Milton’s literary accolades include the American Library Association’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal. Five of his books have been finalists for the National Book Award. His daughter Amy of Cambridge attended a 2007 dedication in the library, which coincided with the release of Meltzer’s novel Tough Times. “Surprise, delight, direction, all these are the strength of books,” Milton wrote (and Amy read on his behalf) for the occasion. “And best of all, the longer I live, the truer it is that books do not age, the way I do. They continue to speak, long after the writers and the readers of their own time are gone.” Sadly, Milton passed away this fall, but his legacy will live on at Worcester State through his collection. Back to Top |
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