Gift Report: 2008 support
for the University of Wisconsin-Madison
College of Engineering
From left: Development Assistant Ruth Olstadt, Director of Development Ann Leahy, Managing Senior Director of Development Deb Holt (who oversees development activities for business, engineering and law), Director of Development Eric Yin, Coordinator of Donor Relations Lisa Oimoen and Director of Development Kelly De Haven. |
Dear alumni and friends,
Throughout the past six months, we’ve all heard it: These are unique economic times. The global and national financial crises have affected us all in some way.
Universities are no exception. More students require financial aid and need-based scholarships to enable them to attend college, or to remain in school, despite their part-time college jobs. And laid-off workers with a variety of technical and professional skills are turning now to higher education to increase their employment value.
In the UW-Madison College of Engineering, we look to you as partners in our endeavor to provide high-quality education, leading-edge research, and meaningful service to our community and our world.
Engineers will play key roles in developing solutions in areas such as energy, healthcare, science, sustainability and infrastructure, among others. Now, if ever, is the time to invest in engineering education.
A UW-Madison campus priority is raising funds for need-based scholarships. When the college instituted differential tuition for engineering students in 2008, Dean Paul Peercy restated his commitment to providing need-based scholarships so that no student would be excluded from an engineering education because of the added cost of differential tuition. The college used funds from the College of Engineering Fund for Excellence to meet this commitment.
Gifts to this fund also enable the college to respond quickly and effectively to a changing financial landscape. Among its many opportunities, this flexible, unrestricted funding could help lure or retain a top faculty candidate, provide scholarships or fellowships, support tutoring initiatives, help a student through a hardship, or support graduate students during short gaps in research funding.
Currently, 7 percent of engineering alumni—about 3,000—are annual donors to the Fund for Excellence. We hope to increase those numbers. No matter the amount of your gift, we sincerely appreciate your support—and the collective effect is significant.
Your ongoing support truly will provide the foundation for excellence in the UW-Madison College of Engineering—now and into the future. WE ALL THANK YOU. Together, we can all make a difference.
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Deb Holt, Managing Senior Director of Development
608/263-0779 Deb.Holt@uwfoundation.wisc.edu -
Kelly De Haven, Director of Development
608/265-9562 Kelly.DeHaven@uwfoundation.wisc.edu -
Ann Leahy, Director of Development
608/265-6114 Ann.Leahy@uwfoundation.wisc.edu -
Eric Yin, Director of Development
608/265-5913 Eric.Yin@uwfoundation.wisc.edu