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ONEONTA, N.Y. --
Changing Lives Since 1889--the five-year campaign for the SUNY College at
Oneonta--concluded on June 30, having raised a record $12,035,451 in
charitable gifts, grants, and written commitments from donors. Chaired by
SUNY-Oneonta alumni Sheila and Robert Striffler of the Class of 1972, the
comprehensive campaign far exceeded its goal of $10 million and helped
increase the College's endowment from $17.1 million at the campaign's start
to over $31 million at its conclusion.
Changing Lives Since 1889 focused on four priorities--scholarships,
science programs, the Milne Library, and unrestricted endowment--all of
which received strong support from donors. Over 19.1% of SUNY-Oneonta
alumni made gifts to the College in the 2006-07 fiscal year. That rate
is the highest among the SUNY colleges, which average 9.3%, and
fourth-highest nationally among four-year public colleges, which average
6.6%, according to the 2006 publication Voluntary Support of
Education.
Paul J. Adamo, Vice President for
College Advancement
and Executive
Director of the College at Oneonta Foundation, commented on the success
of the campaign: "Our volunteer leaders, alumni, faculty and staff,
students, and friends all made important contributions to the campaign.
We're extremely pleased that people recognize the importance of
supporting the College and of providing opportunities for future
generations of deserving students."
Adamo cited a number of statistical measures that demonstrate the
success of the campaign:
- During the campaign, 63 new scholarships were established at the
College, and the average gift for establishing a new scholarship
exceeded $32,000. In the past fiscal year, the College made nearly
900 scholarship awards to students with a total value of
approximately $1.5 million. At the beginning of the campaign, the
College provided approximately $830,000 to students through 530
scholarship awards.
- Gifts to the College in 2006-07 totaled over $3.05 million. That
figure, a record for the College, represents an increase of 44% over
fiscal year 2005-06, when SUNY-Oneonta received just over $2.12
million.
- Faculty and staff giving at SUNY-Oneonta also reached an
all-time high in 2006-07. Gifts from current and retired faculty and
staff totaled $195,646, an increase of 92% over the previous fiscal
year.
- The College's unrestricted endowment--used to provide funds for
student and faculty research, endowed lectureships, the Fund for
Academic Excellence, campus beautification, and other programs--now
totals over $6.6 million, or 22% of the overall endowment. At the
start of the campaign, it totaled $2 million, or 14% of the overall
endowment.
The Changing Lives Since 1889 campaign was coordinated through
the College at Oneonta Foundation, a non-profit organization that
facilitates charitable giving to the College and manages the
College's endowment. Established in 1982, the Foundation uses sound
fiscal policies to invest and allocate assets. Campaign co-chair
Sheila Striffler of New Canaan, Connecticut, was recently elected as
President of the Foundation Board of Directors, succeeding Kenneth
Kellerhouse of Oneonta. Also elected as officers were Vice President
William Pietraface of Oneonta and Secretary Jean Hickey of Oneonta.More information about the Changing Lives Since 1889 campaign and
the College at Oneonta Foundation is available from Paul J. Adamo at
(607) 436-2535.
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