March 26, 2008

Tuition Free Forward is March 28

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Candace Ott, director of the annual fund, hopes the above fact will bring attention to just how important alumni giving and other donations are to the life of the University. “If people didn’t give, Ohio Wesleyan would be in trouble,” she says.

Enter Tuition Free Forward, an event started in 2006 by the Annual Fund office to educate students about alumni giving. This year’s Tuition Free Forward event will be Friday, March 28. The day commemorates the symbolic point at which tuition dollars stop covering budget costs. The accounting and finance offices use a formula to calculate the exact date every year, which is normally at the end of March.

“Educating our current students about philanthropy is very important,” Ott says. “They should know that alumni giving affects OWU’s rankings in U.S. News & World Report, and foundations and corporations also look at our alumni giving before they provide grants.”

Ryan Jordan `09 agrees with Ott that educating current students is critical. He formed the Student Development Council to help raise awareness among students. “Looking at the long term, of course the goal is to encourage students and young alumni to give back to Ohio Wesleyan,” he says. “But first we must educate them about why it’s important that they give back. If we can do that, then I think we’ve accomplished our goal.”

One way the Student Development Council is reaching out to students is through a video they recently produced for YouTube. “YouTube is an important medium,” says Pooja Dutt `09. “It’s accessible and popular. We thought that students would watch the video out of curiosity if nothing else.”

Dutt, Jordan, and other members of the Student Development Council quickly pulled together volunteer actors for the production. “We shot the video on the spot, doing multiple takes,” Dutt says. “Chuck Della Lana in the AV Center was a tremendous help to us, providing both equipment and technical know-how.”

The Student Development Committee premiered the video on March 17 to students, faculty, and staff in the Benes Rooms. “We turned it into a premiere party as a way to thank the actors because they put a lot of time and effort into the project when they didn’t have to,” says Dutt.

As of today’s Connect2 OWU publication date, the OWU Student Development Council video has already received more than 450 hits on YouTube. Dutt thinks that’s a good start to spreading the word about Tuition Free Forward. “Also, members of the Student Development Council and the actors in our video represent a diverse set of students,” she says. “They all have different friends, so that’s even more students who will learn about giving.”

Dutt and Jordan maintain that all students should care about giving back to the University. “Someone paid for you to be here, and it’s only fair that you return the favor,” says Dutt.

Jordan notes that if it weren’t for donors, students would probably owe more than they already do. “Tuition only covers 57 percent of the budget,” he says. “There is a legacy of giving at Ohio Wesleyan. It’s what our University was built on, and it’s critical that we continue that tradition.”

Students can learn more about alumni giving at Tuition Free Forward on Friday, March 28 from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center Atrium.

“We want it to be a fun event,” says Jordan. “It’s an opportunity for students to meet members of the development staff and the Student Development Council as well as alumni. We’ll have trivia questions students can answer for a chance to win small prizes, and students who sign thank-you cards to alumni will receive free ice cream. It’s one thing for alumni to get a printed thank-you, but it’s different to receive a personal thank-you showing gratitude.”

“Alumni love Ohio Wesleyan,” Ott adds. “They want to see the University not only sustained, but also moved to new heights. They want to know that we’re educating students about why philanthropy is important.”

– Ericka Kurtz