​Celebrating Achievements

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) recognizes individuals and organizations who have provided extraordinary service to education and the advancement profession through annual Distinguished Service Awards. This summer, CASE awarded Jerry C. Davis, president of the College of the Ozarks (MO), the 2017 E. Burr Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award for a significant and lasting impact on institutional advancement and earning the respect and admiration of professional colleagues. The recipients of the Ernest T. Stewart Award for Alumni Volunteer Involvement, John and Mary Lou Barter, were nominated by Spring Hill College (AL). And the recipient of the Distinguished Friend of Education Award, Lawrence Bonchek, was nominated by Franklin & Marshall College (PA).

The Research Corporation for Science Advancement named 24 top early-career academic scientists as 2017 Cottrell Scholars. Two of this year’s scholars are from CIC member institutions: Eilat Glikman, assistant professor of physics at Middlebury College (VT), and Michelle L. Kovarik, assistant professor of chemistry at Trinity College (CT). The designation comes with a $100,000 award to cover research and innovative teaching expenses.

Several CIC member institutions won Interfaith Youth Core’s 2017 Better Together Awards in June. Better Together is a national network for student interfaith groups, councils, and committees that work to increase interfaith cooperation on campus. Among the awards for student groups, Mount Holyoke College (MA) was declared the Best Better Together Day winner for use of the theme and spirit of the initiative. Wittenberg University (OH) won the Rookie of the Year award, given to a new initiative that demonstrates promising impact on campus. Among the individual winners, the Mike Hammer Interfaith Leadership Award went to Meredith College (NC) student Eiman Ali for conducting interfaith leadership in a way that motivates, mobilizes, and influences the campus community. The winner of the Outstanding Educator Award that recognizes exceptional support and development of young leaders on campus was Brian Ammons, chaplain and director of the Office of Spiritual Life at Warren Wilson College (NC).

In May, the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) program announced the awardees for its 2017 summer institutes. A competitive program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, CLS is part of an effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. Undergraduate and graduate students from over 200 colleges and universities across the United States received awards including 51 students from 38 CIC member institutions.

In March, the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation announced 240 award recipients for the 2017–2018 academic year. The Goldwater Scholars were selected based on academic merit from a field of 1,286 natural sciences, mathematics, and engineering students nominated by colleges and universities nationwide. Twenty-nine students from 23 CIC member institutions received awards.

In April, the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation named 62 students—out of 768 candidates nominated by 315 colleges and universities—as 2017 Truman Scholars. Four of the scholars are from CIC member institutions: Yesenia Ayala of Grinnell College (IA), Noah Barbieri of Millsaps College (MS), Thomas Mitchell of Rhodes College (TN), and Taslim Tavarez-Garcia of Pace University (NY). The Truman Scholarship is the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders in the United States.

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s award-winning album Lemonade, this spring Beyoncé announced four Formation Scholars awards for the 2017–2018 academic year. Funded by her record label Parkwood Entertainment, the awards are designed to encourage bold, creative female students pursuing creative arts, music, literature, or African American studies. Spelman College (GA) English major Bria Paige received one of the $25,000 scholarships.

Roanoke College (VA) marked its 175th anniversary as hundreds of graduates and their families returned for Alumni Weekend 2017 in April. The sky above the campus was decorated with a fireworks display, framed by Kerr Stadium, Alumni Field, the Cregger Center, and the CAR student housing complex. (Photo courtesy of Roanoke College)

McDaniel College (MD) will mark its 150th anniversary with a year-long sesquicentennial celebration honoring its past, present, and future. The festivities began at commencement this May and will include community engagement programs and special events—such as a birthday party in October and holiday light show in the winter.

Creating Partnerships

This spring, 13 CIC member institutions joined the American Talent Initiative (ATI), a Bloomberg Philanthropies-supported collaboration between the Aspen Institute, Ithaka S+R, and an alliance of colleges and universities dedicated to expanding access and opportunity for talented, low-income students at the nation’s colleges and universities with the highest graduation rates. The new CIC institutions to join include Allegheny College (PA), Baylor University (TX), Bucknell University (PA), Elizabethtown College (PA), Gettysburg College (PA), Kenyon College (OH), Lafayette College (PA), Lebanon Valley College (PA), Marist College (NY), Saint Michael’s College (VT), Swarthmore College (PA), University of Denver (CO), and Wofford College (SC).

The Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges & Universities, in partnership with Community and Shelter Assistance Corp. of Oregon, launched a new matched college savings program, “E3—Earn, Educate, Empower,” in April. E3 will match eight dollars for each dollar that eligible students at Alliance member institutions save in an individual savings account, up to $500 a year, turning that $500 into $4,500 a year—up to $18,000 over four years. E3 is partially funded through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Assets for Independence program. Matching funds also were provided by private gifts and institutional investments by Oregon’s Corban University, Pacific University, and Warner Pacific College.

To boost STEM programming in New York state’s Southern Tier, St. Bonaventure University will become the first Western New York (WNY) STEM Hub Satellite Center. This spring, the university signed a memorandum of understanding with the WNY STEM Hub of the Empire State STEM Learning Network to increase STEM-related events, programs, and resources.

Emerson College (MA) has partnered with Ambassador Theatre Group, a leading international producer of live theater, to operate the Emerson Colonial Theatre. The agreement establishes a partnership to program, renovate, and preserve the historic theater, provide fellowships and internship opportunities for Emerson students, underwrite theater arts programs for local youth, and support Boston’s arts community. The first production is expected to open in January 2018.

In May, the AllOne Foundation awarded a $100,000 grant to Misericordia University (PA) to establish, in partnership with Marywood University (PA) and Wilkes University (PA), the Addiction Counseling Education and Interprofessional Treatment Program. The collaborative program provides counseling and pharmacy intervention services in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to women and children affected by addiction and domestic abuse, while giving students clinical experience in addiction counseling and pharmacy studies.

Misericordia and Marywood universities also recently signed an articulation agreement that allows bachelor of science-degree recipients from Misericordia’s social work program to earn advance standing and transfer into the master of social work degree program at Marywood. Graduates can then complete their master’s degree at Marywood in as little as one year by attending classes full time.

Ohio Wesleyan University joined with Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy to create a post-graduate pathway for students seeking advanced degrees in management, public policy, or information technology. Ohio Wesleyan is now part of the Heinz College Regional Education Partners Scholarship program. Each year, the program will provide up to ten qualified Ohio Wesleyan graduates with scholarship support of at least 30 percent of their per-semester tuition while enrolled in a Heinz College master’s program.

A new agreement between Ohio Wesleyan University and Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) allows qualified Ohio Wesleyan students to gain provisional early acceptance into LECOM’s medical school. The early-acceptance program includes two tracks: an accelerated 3+4 option and a traditional 4+4 option.

Indiana Wesleyan University and Taylor University (IN) in June announced a cooperative program that will lead to the creation of a three-year pre-nursing program at Taylor University, followed by a 14-month concentrated nursing training program at Indiana Wesleyan’s School of Nursing. The program enables students to earn two bachelor degrees in four years at a cost comparable to earning a single four-year degree.

Responding to the need for lawyers who are educated with a Catholic worldview, Franciscan University of Steubenville (OH) has entered into partnerships with the Columbus School of Law of the Catholic University of America and with Ave Maria School of Law for an accelerated juris doctor program. Instead of the traditional seven-year route to a law degree, qualified students will spend three years at Franciscan and three years in law school, saving a full year of tuition.

Beginning this fall, Aquinas College (MI) students will be able to earn a bachelor’s degree in engineering through Western Michigan University’s (WMU) College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Through the partnership announced in May, Aquinas students can spend their first two years earning an associate of arts degree from Aquinas and then continue seamlessly on to earn a bachelor’s degree in industrial and entrepreneurial engineering through a WMU program based at the college.

In April, the University of Dallas (TX) Satish & Yasmin Gupta College of Business announced two new partnerships: one with NCH Corporation, a global leader in industrial, commercial, and institutional maintenance products; and one with Brinker International Inc., one of the world’s leading casual dining restaurant companies. The partnerships will enable the university to advance its mission to prepare students in a wide variety of management specialties and to serve a range of industries.

Brescia University (KY) and the Owensboro Innovation Academy (OIA) are partnering to offer an early college program for OIA students. Given the close geographical proximity of OIA to Brescia, students will be able to walk to Brescia to take college classes and earn an associate degree while in high school. Degrees offered include associate of arts in integrated studies, associate of science in integrated studies, associate of science in health science, and associate of science in engineering studies.

Representatives of Ohio Dominican University, the Dominican Sisters of Peace, the Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, and Friends of Freedom Society gathered on April 20 to dedicate a historical marker that commemorates the importance of Alum Creek and other Central Ohio tributaries as routes used by escaped slaves during the Underground Railroad period. The marker is located along the Alum Creek Trail bridge on Ohio Dominican’s campus. (Photos courtesy of Ohio Dominican University)

Major Gifts, Grants, and Campaign Successes

The College of Wooster (OH) launched a comprehensive fundraising campaign to the public in April. Wooster’s Promise: A Campaign for Our Future aims to raise $165 million for five major priorities—student financial aid, academic strength, experiential education, the life sciences, and the Wooster Fund—by June 30, 2018.

Chaminade University of Honolulu (HI) announced the public phase of its $100 million “Bridges to the Future” comprehensive campaign this spring. The campaign focuses on four areas: ensuring student access and support; advancing academic programs; building a richer campus life; and renewing Chaminade’s athletics tradition.

In May, St. Lawrence University (NY) announced a $25 million gift from alumna Sarah E. Johnson (1982) and her parents, Charles and Ann Johnson, the largest gift in the university’s 161-year history. Sarah Johnson, a film producer, is a university trustee and serves as a co-chair of its forthcoming comprehensive fundraising campaign. The philanthropist family is a longtime supporter of the university.

Maryville College (TN) this spring announced the largest gift in its history. The $15 million gift came to the college from the estate of Dan and Elaine McGill; $1 million will be directed to renovate the campus’s historic Anderson Hall, and the remaining $14 million are designated for endowed scholarships. Dan McGill, a 1940 graduate of Maryville, was an accomplished economist and a longtime supporter of the college.

Thomas College (ME) in May announced a $5.3 million grant from the Harold Alfond Foundation. This is the largest grant in the college’s history and will be used to create the Harold Alfond Institute for Business Innovation at Thomas College. The Institute will enhance paid internships and a wide array of professional development training, certificates, and academic programming.

Elizabethtown College (PA) announced in May that alums Kenneth L. and Rosalie E. Bowers, Class of 1959 and 1958, respectively, will contribute, over time, $5 million to the college’s BE Inspired Campaign. In recognition of their support, the college will name a new $23.4-million facility—the Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness, and Wellness—and use the funds for the long-term sustainability of the facility as well as program development. Construction on the Bowers Center is scheduled to begin in fall 2017.

McKendree University (IL) received a nearly $4 million gift of buildings and real estate in April. Two of ten buildings at the McKendree West student apartment complex in Lebanon, Illiniois, and the 2.83 acres of real estate on which the two buildings are located, were given to the university by Locust Hills Village LLC. Each building, built in 2014, houses 48 students.

Several CIC institutions will receive Nursing Workforce Diversity grants of up to $2 million over the next four years to help train nurses. Lourdes University (OH), Mars Hill University (NC), Texas Lutheran University, Trocaire College (NY), and Viterbo University (WI) received a range of grants announced this spring. The goal of the Nursing Workforce Diversity program, administered through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is to increase access to nursing education for underrepresented students.

Cottey College (MO) announced in May that it received over $1.7 million—one of the largest gifts in its 133-year history. The anonymous gift will boost Cottey’s expanding science program through the creation of scholarships in science fields beginning in 2018–2019.  

Ohio Dominican University (ODU) announced in April that it received the largest gift in the university’s history: $1.5 million from its founding congregation, the Dominican Sisters of Peace. The gift will be used to renovate ODU’s east campus building to house the university’s proposed doctor of physical therapy program. In recognition of the gift, the building will be named Peace Hall. The donation includes a $500,000 matching gift to challenge other donors to support ODU’s first doctoral program.

In March, the National Endowment for the Humanities announced recipients of the inaugural Humanities Connections grants. The $1.6 million in funding for 18 colleges and universities will help undergraduate students strengthen the intellectual skills and habits of mind that the humanities cultivate. Each grant of roughly $100,000 will fund the development of a series of interdisciplinary courses that immerse students in meaningful, high-impact activities related to the common topic, theme, or issue linking the courses. For this first round of grants, courses will bridge the traditional academic divide between the humanities and non-humanities fields such as business, engineering, and the health sciences. The grant recipients include CIC members Berea College (KY), Earlham College (IN), Fontbonne University (MO), Loras College (IA), and Mount Holyoke College (MA).

In May, Brescia University (KY) received a $1 million gift from the family of the late Charles Albert Reid, founder of Independence Bank, to name the university’s business school in his memory. The Charles Albert Reid School of Business will be located in Brescia’s new academic center for professional studies for which construction will begin in early 2018.

In June, Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & Affiliates, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping make college a reality for students in financial distress, awarded $7.2 million to 32 colleges and universities in six states as part of its 2017–2019 Dash Emergency Grant program. Designed to assist low-income students to cover unexpected, nonacademic emergency expenses, the grants seek to improve retention and increase graduation rates. Fourteen CIC member institutions received awards: Alverno College (WI), Cardinal Stritch University (WI), Edgewood College (WI), Grand View University (IA), Hamline University of Minnesota, Heidelberg University (OH), Lourdes University (OH), Mount Mary University (WI), Notre Dame College (OH), Ohio Wesleyan University, St. Catherine University (MN), University of Mary (ND), University of Northwestern-St. Paul (MN), and Upper Iowa University.

The IDEA Center in May awarded Impact Grants totaling nearly $45,000 to six higher education institutions to implement projects designed to positively impact teaching and learning and student well-being. Three CIC member institutions received grants: Champlain College (VT), Dordt College (IA), and Franklin & Marshall College (PA).

In May, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation awarded Aquinas College (MI) $900,000 to address the shortage of qualified teachers of color willing and able to lead area early-childhood education classrooms. In partnership with the Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative, the college will pilot the Preparing Racially-diverse Educators Program (PREP), a hybrid, cohort program designed to address issues of structural racism and inadequate resources that continue to stifle attempts to recruit and support a ready pipeline of potential teachers of color.

At an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of the occupational therapy field, held in Gannon University’s (PA) Hammermill Center, students and faculty presented displays showcasing Gannon OT organizations, delivered academic presentations, hosted fundraising activities, and provided games and music entertainment. (Photo courtesy of Gannon University)

New Programs and Majors

Messiah College (PA) announced in May the addition of doctor of physical therapy and master of occupational therapy degrees to its graduate programs. Both will be full-time, residential programs held at Winding Hill, a newly renovated, state-of-the-art, 32,000 square-foot educational center in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

Gannon University (PA) announced in May that it will offer a new post-professional occupational therapy doctorate program at its Ruskin, Florida, campus. The two-year, part-time online program is designed to prepare practicing occupational therapists who hold master’s degrees to become advanced practitioners.

Trine University (IN) began accepting applications for its master of physician assistant studies program this spring. The program, which will launch in August 2018, will enable students to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certification Exam to earn certification.

Beginning this fall, students at Cedarville University’s (OH) School of Pharmacy will have the option of finishing a doctor of pharmacy degree in six years instead of seven, enabling students to save on tuition and begin earning a salary earlier. The six-year option requires students to take a full load of online classes during the summer between their first and sophomore years and to have completed college-level general chemistry courses prior to arriving on campus.

This spring, Daemen College (NY) received approval by the New York State Department of Education to offer a master’s degree in applied behavior analysis (ABA) starting this fall, making it the only state-approved ABA graduate program in New York. Blending foundational skills with hands-on learning opportunities in various clinical settings, the program is designed for students who hold a bachelor’s degree in psychology, education, social work, sociology, or health promotion. Program graduates will be eligible to apply for licensure as a behavior analyst in New York State without the need for additional course review.

North Central College (IL) will begin a new master of nonprofit management and leadership program this summer. Most of the academic coursework will be offered online, a first for the college.

Loras College (IA) announced in June a new hybrid executive MBA degree in business analytics. The program offers the flexibility of online learning with face-to-face interaction on the campus.

Ashland University (OH) has launched a new one-year international MBA program in Cleveland. The program includes two international study tours, and students can take courses on Saturdays. The Cleveland program will run concurrently with a similar international MBA program that Ashland operates in Columbus.

Trine University (IN) will offer a new MS in leadership degree beginning this fall. The Lou Holtz Master of Science in Leadership degree is the first program offered in the Trine Flex format, which enables adult learners to earn a master’s degree online at a lower fee.

Mars Hill University (NC) will offer a third graduate degree—a master of arts in criminal justice—beginning in spring 2018. The university also will offer a new bachelor of fine arts degree for students who wish to pursue a career or graduate study in art with concentrations in ceramics/sculpture or graphic design/photography.
 
University of the Sciences (PA) students have a new degree option beginning this fall—a BS in neuroscience. The new major will allow students to study the nervous system across a variety of contexts, taking courses with emphasis on the biological, behavioral, theoretical, and clinical aspects of neuroscience.

Ohio Wesleyan University now offers both bachelor of arts and bachelor of science degrees in physics, astrophysics, geology, and microbiology. The university added BS degrees in physics and astrophysics in March and in geology and microbiology in April.

The Tusculum College (TN) board of trustees approved a new BA degree in English education for grades 6–12 in May. The program will begin this fall.

The University of Mount Union (OH) announced in June that it will offer new majors in biomedical, computer, and electrical engineering beginning in fall 2018. The biomedical engineering major will integrate engineering with medicine, combining principles of the medical and biological sciences to design and create equipment, devices, and software used in health care.

Sweet Briar College (VA) will launch a new computer science major this fall. The program received approval from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in May.

Eastern Mennonite University’s (VA) newest major, recreational leadership and sports studies, will prepare students for a wide variety of careers, including facilities management, event planning, sports marketing, camp administration, and ecotourism. The major encourages career exploration through a sophomore practicum and a more focused, intensive hands-on experience during the senior year internship.

To help reduce the education and prosperity gap in Minnesota, the University of St. Thomas (MN) will launch the Dougherty Family College this fall. Designed to increase college access and success of low-income students, the college will offer an associate of arts degree in the liberal arts with structured and intensive mentoring; paid internships; free meals, bus passes, and laptops; and a generous financial aid package.

Franciscan University of Steubenville (OH) launched the Franciscan University Institute of Catechetics this spring to support the strengthening of Catholic culture. Through conferences, new catechetical resources, and online courses, the institute will serve priests, parish catechists, Catholic school teachers, and parents. The cornerstone of the institute’s work is a vast online library of one-hour workshops that will eventually total more than 650 and be available in a dozen certification tracks.

New and Recently Renovated Facilities

The official dedication ceremony for the Morrison-Novakovic Center for Faith and Public Policy at Davis & Elkins College (WV) was held March 30 as part of inauguration week for the college’s 15th president, Chris A. Wood. The center was named for David H. Morrison, a D&E graduate of the class of 1979, and his wife, Phebe Novakovic. The center, which opened in fall 2016, was designed to provide a space for students, faculty members, and other scholars to discuss issues of faith and social and public policy. (Photo courtesy of Davis & Elkins College)

Trine University (IN) honored several donors who supported the Rinker-Ross School of Health Sciences and the 26,000-square-foot expansion of Best Hall of Science at a dedication ceremony on May 12. The $6.6 million expansion opened in January and added seven laboratories, 12 offices, group study spaces, and 140 parking spaces. The school was named in honor of James Ross Rinker of Binghamton, New York, a 1958 alumnus of the university who designated a $2.5 million estate gift toward the expansion.

LaGrange College’s (GA) new science facility was officially named the Ida Callaway Hudson Lab Sciences Building during ceremonies in February. A state-of-the-art, 40,000-square-foot facility, Hudson Lab Sciences Building houses laboratories for instruction in anatomy and physiology, biology, chemistry, ecology, cell and molecular biology, microbiology, and organic chemistry, as well as space for undergraduate research. (Photo credit: © Attic Fire Photography)

Campus Expansions and Name Changes

Following months of research and analysis and after 85 years as a women’s college, the University of Saint Joseph (CT) board of trustees decided in June to admit male students to full-time undergraduate programs at the university starting in fall 2018.

The University of Great Falls (MT) officially changed its name to University of Providence on July 1. Virginia Wesleyan College has officially changed its name to Virginia Wesleyan University. Greenville College (IL) will officially change its name to Greenville University on September 20, 2017. Our Lady of the Lake College will complete its name change to Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University this year. The Nebraska Independent College Foundation has officially changed its name to Council of Independent Nebraska Colleges Foundation.

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