News Announcement
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Columbus, September 2009

VORYS, SATER, SEYMOUR AND PEASE HOSTS AREA KICK-OFF OF THE OHIO FOUNDATION OF INDEPENDENT COLLEGES’ 2009-10 ANNUAL CAMPAIGN

Thomas Crookes, Partner, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease, Akron, serving his second year as Chair of The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) Akron area annual campaign, hosted the campaign meeting and kick-off on September 15 at the Portage Country Club.   Crookes welcomed all of the area campaign volunteers who had come for orientation and introduced Ed Hartzell, OFIC Board Chair.

Hartzell thanked the Akron representatives for their service and commitment to this campaign to help provide career choices and college access for students enrolled at OFIC member independent colleges and universities.   He also emphasized the importance of independent higher education in Ohio to the Akron region’s economic stability and to the state’s future in a changing global economy.  

Richard Jusseaume, President of Walsh University, also addressed the kick-off attendees and spoke of the high percentage of Walsh students that are the first in their families to attend college or come from families at or below the poverty level.  That, he said, combined with the recent state cuts to financial aid make the impact and importance of campaign funds raised from Ohio’s corporations and foundations even greater.  Walsh University sophomore Education major Suhair Adya from Mogadore, Ohio spoke to the volunteers from a student’s perspective.  She stated that she entered the field of education so that she could impact lives every day, and expressed sincere gratitude that the GAR Foundation scholarship she received through OFIC was helping to make that possible.   The first in her family to attend college, Adya emphasized how privileged she felt to have been given this educational opportunity.   

All of the 98,000 students enrolled at OFIC member colleges, which include Hiram College, Malone College, Mount Union College, and Walsh University, will benefit from funds raised through OFIC’s campaign.   Eighty-six students at these four local institutions have directly received scholarships through OFIC’s Ohio Scholars Program for the 2009-10 academic year. OFIC is the primary corporate and foundation solicitation organization for 34 independent Ohio colleges and universities and operates one of the largest, most comprehensive and diverse scholarship management services in the state.  OFIC member colleges collectively enroll 98,000 students and award one-third of all bachelor’s degrees in the state. For 60 years OFIC has worked to highlight the leadership, value and excellence of independent higher education and has provided unrestricted operating funds and scholarship commitments through funds raised in annual solicitations of businesses and foundations, thereby assuring continuation of excellence in private higher education. OFIC is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of Ohio’s corporate leaders, as well as presidents of the 34 member colleges.

The member colleges are:  Ashland University, Baldwin-Wallace College, Bluffton University, Capital University, Cedarville University, University of Dayton, Defiance College, Denison University, The University of Findlay, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Franklin University, Heidelberg University, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kenyon College, Lake Erie College, Lourdes College, Malone University, Marietta College, Mount Union College, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Muskingum University, Notre Dame College, Oberlin College, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio Northern University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Otterbein College, Urbana University, Ursuline College, Walsh University, Wilmington College, Wittenberg University and The College of Wooster.