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Students First! is three-quarters
along its milestone $100 million journey
Already, an incredible three-quarters of the $100 million Students First! goal is pledged, bequeathed or in hand. Much of that $75 million is the result of inspirational leadership giving, including multi-million dollar gifts from alumni and foundations.
The remaining $25 million must come from the more than 16,000 alumni and friends with visionary support that gets to the heart of the campaign – to fortify learning opportunities with scholarships, a healthy endowment and modern facilities.
They will be inspired to add a little more to their annual pledges to The Manchester Fund when a Phonathoner calls, or to put their alma mater in their estate plans, or to contribute to a memorial scholarship, faculty office … or one of the scores of ways to give to Students First!
The milestone $35 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. for the College of Pharmacy helps the College step boldly in its fundraising to declare: “Now is the time.”
Students and faculty are ready. They are watching the new Academic Center and admissions Welcome Center take form as they cross the mall en route to convocations, meals, classes, Chapel and their rooms. The continual buzz of movement around the construction site mirrors the buzz students feel toward the campus improvements. They are grateful for the new additions coming their way.
Faculty and the admissions staff will begin moving into the three-story structure in June to prepare for fall 2012 classes.
“It’s great,” says Ramiro “Miro” Ramirez ’14 of Wakarusa, Ind. He says he chose Manchester for its top-notch business program, and can’t wait to start those classes in the new building next fall. “I take my studies very seriously. It seems as if the Business Department is getting the space to provide us with the best education possible.”
Putting students first ultimately is about maximizing the learning potential, whether it is state-of-the-art equipment in the classrooms or adding elevators to buildings to make the campus more accessible. Indianapolis first-year student Ryan Gossett ’15 uses a walker to move around campus and is challenged by the College’s aged learning spaces. “Students who have similar problems that I do have to be placed in rooms on the first floors,” he says.
“To me, (the Academic Center elevator) is a small step forward. It is accommodating to the students that come here. This is reinforcing that belief that Manchester is accommodating its students.”
Students also are seeing the results of the fundraising in the flexible new learning spaces and locker rooms in the Physical Education and Recreation Center (PERC). Anden Hormann ’12 came to MC’s exercise and sport science program from Seattle, Wash. He spends many hours in the PERC classrooms and works closely with athletes. He appreciates the improvements. “The College definitely improved the education environment of the athletic training students as well as athletes in general.”
The gifts totaling $100 million will be transformed exponentially when invested in student success. Sam Wysong ’10 has had time to reflect on the benefits of choosing Manchester now that he is engaged in his career.
“It is impossible to put a price on any of my experiences at Manchester, as each of them has shaped me into the person I am today,” he says. With a mathematics education and mathematics dual major, Wysong found a full-time teaching position less than two months after graduation, teaching math for Edgewood Middle School in Warsaw, Ind.
“I am proud to be a graduate of Manchester College and am always happy to hear of continued progress,” Wysong says. “It is always exciting to be back on campus and see the constant improvements. This campaign is just one more reason I would recommend Manchester to others.”
To everyone who has donated, students thank you. To everyone who will donate, students thank you. Donations become invaluable when used to maximize the education potential. To students, this means so much.
By Xuny Haley ’14 |
