With $31 million already raised toward our $50 million goal for the Golden Anniversary Campaign for Florida Tech, we are making great progress. Donors may continue to choose a variety of ways to give. One is to select a named gift opportunity.
A naming opportunity sends a strong message to our campus and external community that an individual, business or organization has loaned their name to the university’s effort to add distinction to its endeavors. Right now, several specific options exist with the South Village project, termed such because all facilities will be located south of University Blvd.
“Our new plans for expanding the south campus will be transformational,” said Provost T. Dwayne McCay. “I would not be surprised if these changes have an even larger impact on the university than did the F.W. Olin buildings.”
The project encompasses Florida Tech’s most immediate construction plans. At the top of the list is the 382-bed residence hall complex, which will overlook the university’s athletics fields and offer 250 new parking spaces. Each of the complex’s three, five-story buildings will be opportunities for naming.
“We’re building this complex especially for upper classmen to encourage them to stay on campus,” said McCay. “It’s well-known that living on campus can have a positive impact on the quality of education as well as benefit grades.” The new halls are scheduled to open in time for the new school year in August 2008.
Second will be a new food service facility and banquet center under one roof. Food service will include a food court, all-you-can-eat dining and 600 seats, primarily for students, on the first floor. A 500-seat banquet center with full catering capabilities will be on the second floor.
Naming opportunities for student food service and the banquet center are also available.
Next in line is a much-needed 350-space, three-level parking deck.
Another key priority, carrying a naming opportunity is a new marine ecology center to be built near the F. W. Olin buildings. The two-story, 15,200-square-foot center will update teaching and research on marine biology and aquaculture.
Rosalind Weiss, development associate and annual fund director, smiles a lot these days. The annual October-to-spring drive for FY’07 took in more than $4 million—all contributing to the Golden Anniversary Campaign for Florida Tech. This compares to $3.5 million in FY’06 and represents an increase in the percentage of alumni giving from 17 percent to 19 percent.
“In the FY’02 annual fund drive, 9.5 percent of alumni gave to their alma mater,” said Weiss. “So, we’ve come a long way and that makes us feel pretty good.”
Each year the university sets out to garner much needed financial support through the annual fund campaign, a combined phone-a-thon and letter-writing effort directed to alumni. Florida Tech uses the money donated to the annual fund for its most vital student needs, such as better financial aid, newer laboratory equipment and expanded library resources.
A major portion of the recent annual fund success was from the spring Sporting Affair, a series of activities to support athletics scholarships, which Weiss called “hugely successful.” Led by Weiss and director of athletic partnerships Jennifer Neuhard, Sporting Affair 2007 brought in $300,000.
“My goal right now,” said Weiss, as she begins preparing for a letter to go out in September and the phone-a-thon to start in October, “is to hit 25 percent of alumni personal giving. But, who knows? We might even go beyond that.”
She adds that alumni may make a donation now and they won’t be called later.
Send an e-mail message to makeagift@fit.edu to receive a postage-paid, self-addressed envelope to mail your gift. For more information, contact Weiss at rweiss@fit.edu.
About the time Marjorie Hayes of the Washington, D.C., area was seeking a worthy cause to support, she met with an old friend, Paris Michaels ’76 B.S., ’83 M.B.A. A commercial pilot and graduate of the College of Aeronautics as well as current doctoral student in that college, Michaels had a good idea what to suggest.
Hayes liked his idea. Last spring she made a $250,000 donation to the college. With $50,000, the university will establish a new scholarship endowment, to be called the Marjorie Hayes Scholarship. The endowment will provide funds each year for eligible flight students in the College of Aeronautics. The university will work with the college to select students based on merit and financial need.
The remaining $200,000 will name a flight simulator laboratory facility within F.I.T. Aviation, Florida Tech’s training facility at Melbourne International Airport. The Marjorie Hayes Simulator Lab will be put to use by Florida Tech’s faculty and students.
Michaels, who also has a master’s degree in national security from the Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C., met Hayes at the institute, where she has also funded scholarships.
“Mrs. Hayes doesn’t just donate to any worthy cause, she invests in America,” said Michaels. “She views her donation to the College of Aeronautics as an investment in youth and in our students, who will master the future of U.S. global aviation. She credits aviation with contributing immensely to this nation’s progress.”
He added that she believes that a U.S. flag should hang in every university classroom.
Going the Extra Mile
Cynthia Smith, development associate, finalized the details of this donation. Smith was also instrumental in helping a graduate student fulfill a dream of attending a summer program at the prestigious von Karman Institute of Fluid Dynamics in Brussels. Michael Vergalla, an aerospace engineering student, had his acceptance in hand, arranged a place to stay, but did not have the funds for the plane ticket. He turned to the Office of Development and to Smith.
After exhausting several potential resources over several weeks, Smith found a campus staff member who offered a Delta Airlines buddy pass, a roundtrip standby ticket.
A senior in fall 2007, Vergalla wrote, “Cynthia went way beyond the call of duty and personally assisted me in accomplishing my task with a pleasant attitude throughout the discouraging process. I cannot fully express my gratitude for her efforts, positive attitude and willingness to persevere on my behalf.”
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Florida Tech’s restful, 30-acre Botanical Garden is an attraction for miles around and a treat for the campus community. Taking advantage of a naming opportunity will create an endowment to maintain the leafy retreat and keep it a joy to experience for many years to come. Additionally, the garden was recently approved as an entry in the American Automobile Association (AAA) Florida guidebook, to be published in December 2007.
Additional naming opportunities abound. Gifts can put a name on laboratories, classrooms and conference rooms, or even benches, fountains and outdoor plantings. For more information, contact Thomas G. Fox, senior vice president for advancement, at (321) 674-6400 or at tfox@fit.edu.
Florida Tech alumnus Jonathan B. Zung ’86 has made an initial donation to establish an annual Department of Chemistry Award. The Dr. J. Clayton Baum Chemistry Award recognizes an outstanding junior chemistry major based on academic and research achievements. The recipient will be selected by the awards committee during the spring semester of the junior year. The award was established by alumni in recognition of Baum’s dedication, devotion and service to the Department of Chemistry and to the
university.
Professor Baum has taught and conducted research at the university since 1979. He has also served as a mentor and adviser to numerous undergraduate and graduate students. Baum earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from Princeton University and received his undergraduate degree at Williams College.
Zung has pledged to match alumni contributions until the scholarship is funded at $25,000. His donation is part of the Golden Anniversary Campaign for Florida Tech.
Holder of a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, Zung currently is vice president, project management, for Bristol-Myers Squibb in Princeton, N.J.
“Nearly all chemistry graduates since 1979, who have taken courses from Dr. Baum, realize how much he has contributed to the university,” said Zung. “The education I received at Florida Tech was superb and would never have been possible without the dedication of faculty like Dr. Baum. The award will begin a legacy of giving by chemistry alumni at Florida Tech.”
For more information on the Golden Anniversary for Florida Tech, visit http://campaign.fit.edu.
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