Campaign Bulletin - January 2010

In This Issue

Dear Friends:

Happy New Year! As the students return from winter break, we find ourselves in the final five months of the Opportunity for a Lifetime campaign. It’s the perfect time, if you haven’t participated yet, to help give Worcester State College students an “opportunity for a lifetime.”

You would be following in the footsteps of our dedicated volunteer leaders, as each member of the College’s three boards is now participating in the campaign. You would also be joining members of the Campaign Committees and over 7,100 donors who have made a gift to this historic campaign.

I was encouraged to see so much generosity during the holiday season, and as you will read in this newsletter, the end-of-year gifts and pledges we received took the campaign to the $11 million mark. Response to the Annual Fund remains strong and the Helen Shaughnessy memorial campaign has attracted many gifts. Individuals we met with recently have also shown their concern for our students with generous gifts and pledges. This kind of outpouring of support gives me hope that we will reach our bold new goal of $12 million by the end of the campaign on June 30, 2010.

Looking further ahead, pressure on the Worcester State Foundation to grow the general scholarship fund will intensify as the College faces a projected long-term budget challenge. The College has recently adopted a five-year strategic plan and is implementing a new financial plan, both of which outline how the College can meet our mission during this period of uncertainty. The larger the Foundation’s general scholarship fund, the more competitive Worcester State College can be when it comes to enticing talented students to enroll—and stay enrolled.

Our donors have proven time and again to be resilient, and reliably support our important cause—Worcester State students. I hope we can count on you to put the Opportunity for a Lifetime campaign over the top! If you would like to participate right now, please visit http://worcester.imodules.com/opportunity. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Thomas M. McNamara ’94
Vice President of Institutional Advancement

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Mark Fuller praises the transformation of the College at the dedication of The Fuller Theater.

Fuller Theater Dedicated on Opening Night of ‘Bus Stop’

In recognition of a $500,000 grant from The George F. and Sybil H. Fuller Foundation to renovate the theater in the Helen G. Shaughnessy Administration Building, the College celebrated the gift at a dedication ceremony on the opening night of Bus Stop in November. Members of the Fuller family, Joyce and her son Mark and his wife, Jan, as well as David Hallock, a trustee of the Fuller Foundation, were in attendance. “We are so grateful to the Fuller Foundation for its investment in performing arts education at Worcester State,” President Ashley said. “This space has been transformed into a beautiful, educational theater. Our students can now hone their stagecraft and acting abilities in a state-of-the-art environment.” Visible additions to the theater include catwalks, new sound equipment including assistive listening devices, winches above the stage, and box seating. The modernized back-stage amenities include a control booth, design studio, scene shop, costume shop, and a small green room. Alumni Tiffany Gates Society members who attended this annual donor recognition event were treated to the opening night performance of Bus Stop. “We want to showcase our students to our donors whenever we can, and this was another wonderful opportunity to do that,” McNamara said. Before the play began, Mark Fuller praised the College’s recent progress in many areas. “Imagine having a $10 million goal, hitting the goal, and then deciding to raise the goal,” he added. “That’s not happening in many places. I want to thank the Boards, President Ashley, the faculty, the staff, the students, and the community at-large for all they have done to move Worcester State College forward. It is a great privilege to be here this evening.”

You Can Join Donors Who Are Building Our Scholarship Program

When hundreds of ambitious Worcester State students sit down to apply for 2010-2011 academic scholarships between February 1 and April 1, nine new scholarships will be available to them: the Laeh Aframe Class of 1942 Scholarship, Class of 1959 Scholarships, Kevin David Lyons ’65, ’71 Memorial Scholarship, Donald and Mary Moran Scholarship, Sharen Cutting Shipley Scholarship, Victor & Angelia Rezen Memorial Scholarship, Robert M. Spector Endowed Scholarship, Dr. Joshua Unuigboje “Oje” Aisiku Scholarship, and 125th Anniversary Scholarship. In addition, gifts by several donors increased the number awards that can be made by their scholarship next academic year: Francis Crimmins and the Bilodeau family. You can join these donors—and build our scholarship program—by establishing a scholarship before the Opportunity for a Lifetime campaign ends on June 30, 2010. You may contact Assistant Vice President of Institutional Advancement Camilla H. Caffrey for more information at 508-929-8141 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Or you may make an online donation to the general scholarship fund right now by visiting http://worcester.imodules.com/opportunity.

Campaign Surges toward New Goal with Recent Gifts

A flurry of gifts and pledges from generous donors at the end of the year brought the Opportunity for a Lifetime campaign within reach of the new $12 million goal. The beneficiaries are the scholarship program, unrestricted endowment, academic programs, campus facilities, and the Worcester Center for Crafts. We received a gift-pledge from an alumnus to create an endowed scholarship in memory of his late uncle, an anonymous unrestricted gift of $10,000, and a $10,000 grant from The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation for the Craft Center. Other gifts have honored pledges to the campaign, including those from Davis Education Foundation, Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital, Francis A. & Jacquelyn H. Harrington Foundation, Foundation Board Vice President Gregg Rosen, and Alumni Association’s Advisory Board President Sharon McDonald.

Board of Trustee Chair John Brissette '88

New Trustee Chair Creates First Athletics Fund

WSC’s new Chair of the Board of Trustees John Brissette ’88 remains a strong supporter of the College’s athletics program and is an avid fan of the Lancer Men’s Basketball team. He has strengthened his affinity with Worcester State Athletics through a commitment to create the Foundation’s first athletics fund. Once John’s gift-pledge of $25,000 to the Opportunity for a Lifetime campaign is endowed, The Brissette Family Endowed Fund for Athletics will provide assistance in meeting the changing needs of the WSC Athletics program. “I created this fund because I believe that athletics and fitness in general are integral to our students’ experiences,” John says. He is a proponent of building a new wellness center and strongly feels now is the time to begin this process. “We cannot sit back and wait to accomplish this endeavor for our students. They have waited long enough for this,” he says. This fund will help the department fulfill its mission to nurture the talent of our student-athletes regardless of the field or court on which they play. A variety of needs may be met by this fund, such as providing funding for a student-athlete to go on an overnight trip, purchasing new uniforms as needed, and replacing workout equipment in the fitness center, to name just a few. John hails from a family of Worcester State alumni. His brother, Ken, graduated in 1987 and his sister, Michelle (Brissette) Gabrielian, in 1990. And long before them, his grandmother Eva Brissette attended the Worcester Normal School. John has been a very active alumnus, serving on the Board of Trustees and Worcester State Foundation Board as well as previously on the Alumni Association’s Advisory Board. To find out how you can establish an endowed fund that supports Worcester State students, you may contact Tom McNamara at 508-929-8033 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Brittany Rheault '07

Internship Helps Grad Land Her Dream Job

Brittany Rheault ’07 credits everything she did at WSC for preparing her for early success in her career, but it was an internship that helped her land a dream job four months after graduation. She was an intern at the Massachusetts Amateur Sports Foundation/Bay State Games her junior year. Brittany was hired full-time as the organization’s special projects and finance coordinator in September 2007. Today, she is their director of operations. Brittany also took advantage of a variety of other opportunities at WSC. She worked in the Office of Institutional Advancement for four years and the Athletics Department for three years. She served as a student orientation leader for three years, as co-director of orientation for one year, on the Judicial Review Board for a couple of years, and on the Student Athletic Advisory Council. And she applied for and received the Paul ’57, ’59 and Barbara ’71 Davis Scholarship in 2005 and 2006. Brittany is one of WSC’s active young alumni. She is a class agent and already a loyal donor. “My involvement in all the activities on campus makes me want to give back today,” she explained. Read more about Brittany…

Professor Emeritus Dr. Joshua Unuigboje “Oje” Aisiku

Son Joins in Recognition of Father’s Retirement

Inspired by the expression of gratitude and admiration of his father, Professor Emeritus of Education Dr. Joshua Unuigboje “Oje” Aisiku, at his retirement reception last May, Imo Aisiku ’92, M.D., has pledged to provide a tremendous boost to the scholarship fund his father’s colleagues established in honor of his retirement. Dr. Oje, as he is affectionately known, retired to take an appointment as the founding president of a new private university, Chrisland Millennium University in Abeokuta/Owode, Ogun State, Nigeria. Interim Dean of Education Elaine (Sharistanian) Tateronis ’63, M.Ed. ’74, Ed.D., established the scholarship for middle and secondary education students prior to Dr. Oje’s retirement, and kept it a secret from him. He was incredibly moved when she announced it at his retirement reception. He spoke warmly of Worcester State being his extended family and his hope that he can remain connected with the College. Imo’s pledge of $5,000 will help grow this scholarship. A successful alumnus of Worcester State, Imo is currently an associate professor in the departments of neurosurgery and emergency medicine at University of Texas Medical School at Memorial-Hermann Hospital in Houston and vice-chair and chief of critical care for the neurosurgery department. He also treats emergency-room patients as well as those in the hospital’s neuroscience critical care unit. If you would like to contribute to this scholarship fund or the general scholarship fund, visit http://worcester.imodules.com/opportunity, or contact Assistant Vice President of Institutional Advancement Camilla Caffrey at 508-929-8141 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .