The Senior Class Council, the Senior Gift Committee and the Rochester Fund are working together to develop a scholarship fund as the 2005 Senior Class Gift.
“The main complaint is that the scholarship, is not a tangible gift but we’re trying to make everyone happy,” Co-Administrator for the Senior Class Council Jesse Victor said. “[The Senior Class Council] and The Rochester Fund are the two large organizations that have put this together along with monetary support from both Admissions and Dean of the College William Scott Green.”
The Rochester Fund is one of the alumnae main connections to the University, allowing them to monetarily support undergraduate and graduate programs.
The Senior Class Council has made strides in creating a tangible gift for the entire community.
“Part of me wishes that the class gift were something tangible that I could keep coming back to,” senior Olivia LaBoda said. “I think that the class council has done a good job recognizing this and has now made it appeal to everyone.”
“The Office of Admissions will pledge $5,000 every year,” Associate Director of the Rochester Fund Mary Beth Neiser said. “The Rochester Fund will then give $5,000 every year for three years following the fundraising year.”
“Its always nice to give something back to a school that provides a lot for their students, especially financially,” senior Scott Caesar said.
“We polled the seniors for their input on the selection criteria for the recipient, which turned out to be heavily need and merit based,” Victor said.
After their fundraising goal is met, both the Office of Admissions and The Rochester Fund will contribute to the $10,000 the recipient will receive annually. In total, the scholarship amounts to $40,000, paid over a four-year period.
“We now have a webpage that is up, which will give seniors the chance to vote for five scholarship candidates,” Victor said.
The Web site is part of a response to make the gift more tangible and interactive.
In the same vein, the Senior Class Council is now organizing the addition of a brick, possibly between the Meliora and Rush Rhees Library as well as a plaque in Wilson Commons.
The scholarship will be a lasting part of the University through the True Blue Society, part of The Rochester Fund.
“We’re going to try to keep this going every five years,” Victor said. “We wanted to create a scholarship with a story behind it. Hopefully the money will act as incentive for the recipient to become a leader at the university and take on an active role. Every time we have a Class of 2005 reunion, we will be able to channel our fundraising, if we decide to, for another scholarship. In that way, we will have a living legacy of our class.”
Edwards can be reached at cedwards@campustimes.org.
