The General Studies Alumni Association
(GSAA) created an endowed scholarship fund by donating $68,000 to the School of General
Studies. After almost two years of transition
from an independent charter organization to a fully integrated part of the School, the
Association made a gift last June of its scholarship funds and operating capital which had
been privately held and managed. In
recognition of the gift, the University designated the endowment the “GS Alumni
Association Scholarship Fund.” An
annual award will be given to an outstanding GS student who has distinguished him- or
herself through commitment and service to the School and the University. The fund will continue to grow through further
donations.
According to Philip Ehrlich, outgoing
Alumni Association President, the Alumni Association established a scholarship fund
fifteen years ago under the direction of then-President Dr. Lucielle Roussin, recently
honored at the School’s fiftieth year anniversary dinner. To build the fund, a new category of “Life
Members” was created: alumni making contributions of $250 or more became Life Members
and were exempt from paying the annual $25 dues the Association collected for operating
expenses. Over time, the Life Membership base
contribution grew to $500. The money given by
Life Members was considered an inviolate fund to be used either for scholarship purposes
or as seed money for long-term projects rather than for operating expenses.
The Alumni Association independently
managed the fund, and in collaboration with the School, awarded a yearly scholarship to a
GS student. With the establishment of the new
scholarship fund within the School, the Alumni Association can take advantage of the
professional money management capabilities of the University.
As the Board of Directors debated turning
the inviolate fund into an endowed scholarship fund, Administrative Vice President
Caroline Wueschner emphasized the importance of recognizing the Life Members. “Their contributions built the fund,”
she stressed. “We should recognize them
in some way.” A reception is being
planned to recognize the endowment and to honor Life Members.
The GS Alumni Association Scholarship Fund
is illustrative of the renewed partnership between the GSAA and the School. In past years, the Alumni Association acted as a
stand-alone organization, and only graduates who paid dues were members.
Under the new agreement with the School,
the GSAA no longer collects dues; all donations go directly to the School. In addition, all GS graduates are GSAA members;
anyone who donates $50 per year to the School is a Sustaining Member. In turn, the School
gives financial and administrative support to the Alumni Association and the programs they
wish to develop. This cooperation allows the
Alumni Association to expend its volunteer energies in non-administrative areas, such as
revamping. The Columbia Owl and developing a new website including an Alumni Online
Community.
The School’s new-found commitment to
alumni is no more evident than in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. The
creation of the position of Director of
Alumni Relations, which Brian Woods has energetically filled for the past year, is part of
this commitment. Before Brian came to GS,
development and alumni relations were rolled into one position, held for many years by the
late Carol Burton. With the separation of the
two functions, the Alumni Relations Officer is now able to devote his attention to
reaching out to alumni and planning innovative programs for both alumni and students.
Natasha Maximoff and Bruce Rosengrant make
up the Development Team. They are charged
solely with fundraising for GS. According to
Natasha, GS has approximately sixty scholarship funds:
“Most were set up by individuals, although a few are gifts from foundations. It is of the highest priority to raise scholarship
dollars.” Recent graduates would agree,
because GS students are often financially independent; they usually bear the debt burden
of their educations themselves, the cost of which total many tens of thousands of dollars.
But there is reason to be optimistic, for
in the last few years the number of scholarships has nearly doubled. As part of the
Campaign for Columbia, GS’ goal is to raise six million dollars by December 2000; the
endowment goal is to raise half that amount in scholarships.
The structure of the GS Alumni Association
Scholarship Fund allows for further donations from all interested parties. The Board of
Directors has committed itself to growing the fund with the hope that eventually the fund
will provide one full scholarship or several partial ones.
Currently, a minimum of $500,000 is needed to generate a full scholarship.
“The transfer of the Alumni Scholarship Fund is a substantial vote of confidence by
the alumni in the reinvigorated GS,” Dean Peter Awn reflected. “I hope that more GS graduates will not only
support the Alumni Scholarship Fund but also get involved in the lives of our current
students. GS has more that fifty years of
tradition behind it, a tradition that is embodied in each and every graduate. I am proud to be Dean of such a unique
college.”
