Vol. 19, No. 2 - Winter 2003

President's letter

Alumni Society

Dear Alumni and Friends,

I am frequently asked how alumni and friends can help the U and the college. Given the dire $4 billion budget crisis the state of Minnesota is facing, there are two important ways you can help—becoming an advocate for the University and contributing to the Alumni Society’s Student Scholarship Fund.

The University seeks the help of its alumni and the general community to advocate for the U with the state legislature. It is likely that the University’s basic funding will be cut for the 2003–05 biennium. As a U supporter you can play a key role in helping to preserve the University’s budget.

Call, e-mail, or write your legislators and the governor and tell them that you are a graduate (or friend) of the U, that you feel it is extremely important to the future of the state to maintain a strong research university and to preserve the U’s state allocation. The three-fold, land-grant mission of the University—to provide teaching, research, and outreach—cannot be compromised by inadequate funding. While the University realizes it must share in the burden of solving the budget crisis, its core mission of providing affordable, quality education for the state’s citizens must be preserved.

With major budget cuts come increased tuition costs, increasing the need for more student financial aid. Last year the Alumni Society started a student scholarship fund. Through the generosity of alumni and friends, the fund has received over $20,000. But to make the fund an endowment (where the principal is maintained and scholarships funded from the interest income), the fund must reach $25,000. If you haven’t yet contributed, please consider making a gift to help create an endowment that will be a legacy of the CEHD Alumni Society (see attached envelope). This spring the society will award four $500 scholarships to deserving students from this fund. We’d like to give more as state-funded student financial aid diminishes and the need for scholarships increases.

This is an urgent call for action. Create your own 15 minutes of fame on behalf of the U! Take 10 minutes to contact your legislator and five minutes to send in a contribution to the Scholarship Fund. Those 15 minutes of action will help not only the U, but also help the college maintain its state support of approximately $11 million, so it can continue to offer students an affordable world-class education. Act now! Thank you.

Robert Koenig, Ph.D., ’73
Alumni Society president