Campaign Bulletin - March 2009

In This Issue

Dear Friends:

I sat on a panel at the recent Opportunity for a Lifetime Campaign Committees meeting that discussed the Worcester State Foundation’s endowment. The good news that I shared with the committee members I will share with you now. Since July, we have received $1.5 million in gifts and pledges from over 2,000 donors. This is the most donors we’ve ever had in the first six months of a fiscal year since the Foundation was created in 1993. To see this many donors helping Worcester State College when our economic situation is so uncertain is really wonderful and shows how strongly many of you believe in the College’s mission.

At the Campaign Committees meeting, we held our first Thank-A-Thon. Committee members and college staff each spent about 15 minutes calling several donors to thank them for their generous support of the College. The response was overwhelmingly positive. For example, Jean Hutchison told committee member and alumna Jo-Anne Cronin, “You’re calling to say thank you? You’ve touched my heart. You’ve made my day!” It was a great way for us to show how much we value our donors.

In this newsletter, you will find stories about some recent gifts that will transform the academic experience at Worcester State and lessen students’ burden to pursue their dreams. You can also read about the steps we are taking to be good stewards of your donations during the global financial crisis.

In the coming year, we will engage many campaign supporters to keep the momentum going. With your help, we have already raised $8.5 million and can reach the $10 million campaign goal in the next 15 months.

Thank you for your continued support,

Thomas M. McNamara ’94
Vice President of Institutional Advancement

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Students in WSC's library

Grant to Revamp Library Entryway

In this day and age, it is critical that WSC’s library not only be a virtual “intellectual information center,” but also a comfortable space for students to use its materials—bound and electronic. A $350,000 grant from the George I. Alden Trust provides the first step in this direction. The grant will transform the main entrance and foyer into a wireless Internet café and study lounge and update the circulation desk. This will create a welcoming environment for the College’s student scholars. The architectural designs will be prepared this year, and the renovations are expected to begin in the summer of 2010. However, there is more to be done to modernize the library, and a variety of naming opportunities exist for some gifts to the library. For a gift of $750,000, you would be offered naming rights for the library. With a gift of $25,000, a special collections area could bear your name or that of a loved one. A gift of $10,000 could establish an endowed library media, acquisitions, or subscriptions fund.

Students practice checking vital signs on the new baby manikin.

Baby Manikin Enhances Nursing Lab

The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education awarded a $35,000 grant to the College for a simulated baby manikin to better prepare nursing students, nursing educators, and practicing nurses to treat infant patients.“This grant enables us to give our nursing students hands-on training and take another step toward fully outfitting our Fairlawn Foundation Clinical Skills Nursing Lab with state-of-the-art equipment,” says President Ashley. This manikin will join the child, female, and male manikins already in the lab. WSC proposed partnering with Pernet Family Health Service, Inc. WSC’s Nursing Clinical Educator Joann Reidy, a specialist in maternity nursing, will teach Pernet’s community health nurses and paraprofessionals as well as WSC nursing majors how to use the baby manikin.

Mary D. Tateosian

Children Remember Their Mother with Scholarship

In December, the children of the late Mary D. Tateosian ’55—David Tateosian, Jean Hutchison, and Joan Arakelian—pulled together to endow a scholarship fund established when their mother passed away in January 2008. Together, they gave over $25,000 toward the scholarship. They will see the first award given to a deserving student later this year. Their mother was a dedicated teacher in the Worcester Public School System. Mary recognized the importance of continuing her education and believed it was a means to opening new doors and career opportunities. She went on to complete her master’s degree at Worcester State in 1958 while working full-time and raising a family. You may create a similar named scholarship fund with a gift of $25,000 or more. Each newly endowed scholarship takes us closer to the Opportunity for a Lifetime campaign’s goal to raise $4 million for scholarships.

“Helping two students is good; helping ten is even better.”

- Barbara (Lyons)Levesque

Couple’s Gift Quintuples Textbook Fund Awards

Ten years after they first established a textbook fund, Allen and Barbara (Lyons) ’59 Levesque have made a generous gift of over $18,000 to expand the number of students who receive aid each year from two to ten. While working as a library assistant at Middlesex Community College, Barbara says she saw that many students couldn’t afford to buy textbooks. Inspiration for this fund came from a MCC faculty member who created a textbook fund when she retired. “I always thought that was a terrific idea,” Barbara says. When Allen and Barbara first explored making a commitment to WSC, establishing a textbook fund was presented as one of many choices. “When we saw the chance to do something like this at Worcester State, we took it,” Barbara says. It is now one of our most popular scholarships. “Helping two students is good; helping ten is even better,” she explains.

“Every dollar that's provided by the Foundation creates an opportunity.”

- Thomas M. McNamara

Endowment and Investment Approach Focus of Panel

In light of the dramatic downturn of the stock market, the Campaign Committees meeting on February 4 featured a panel discussion on the Worcester State Foundation endowment. The goal was to provide volunteers with basic information about the endowment, the impact the economic crisis is having on it, and the need for continued support during these uncertain times. Since its founding in 1997, the endowment has grown to just over $11 million—including campaign pledges to date—and is a collection of over 205 funds that support scholarships, teaching activities, and a wide variety of College priorities, according to Vice President of Institutional Advancement Thomas M. McNamara. It is unique in that it does not support the College’s operating costs. Over 75% of the endowment is restricted, just under 18% is unrestricted, and 4% is temporarily restricted. Five percent is provided annually to the College. “One of the goals of the campaign is to increase our unrestricted endowment to 25%,” McNamara noted. “Every dollar that’s provided by the Foundation creates an opportunity.” After seeing the endowment drop 18% between July and October 2008, according to Foundation Treasurer Ed Sherr, the portfolio was put in a “very defensive” position to safeguard investments and new gifts. “We’re not immune to what’s going on, but we’re doing our best to stay conservative,” Sherr said. Campaign Co-Chair and Foundation Board Vice President Gregg Rosen ’86 closed the discussion by encouraging members to introduce more people to the campaign and supporting the College. “Let’s keep up the hard work,” he said. “We’re almost there.”

Visitors to the 2008 Celebration of Scholarship & Creativity

Celebration of Scholarship & Creativity Set for April

The second annual Celebration of Scholarship & Creativity on Wednesday, April 29 from 3 to 7 p.m. will showcase faculty and undergraduate and graduate student work produced during the 2008-09 academic year. A wide variety of scholarship and creative work—posters, papers, books, book chapters, musical and theatrical performances, poetry readings—are expected. Some will be displays of research supported by the Mini-Grant Program, which is supported in part by the Foundation. The Student Center’s Blue Lounge and North/South Auditorium will be the venues. The student art exhibit, which will be open then, will be in the first floor gallery of the Ghosh Center for Science and Technology. A reception will be held from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Foster Room. If you are interested in attending, contact Louise Taylor, executive assistant to the vice president, at 508-929-8033 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .