Annual Report
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2011-12 Cortland College Foundation Annual Report Making Every Step Count SUNY Cortland students depend on donor gifts to overcome obstacles and pursue big dreams. Read some of their inspiring stories (Page 3). 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 A Message From The Chair: Every Gift Matters 3 Campaign Goal Chart 4 The Great Outdoors - Corey Ryon ’99 5-6 Making Every Step Count - Brittan Kuhlman and Davon Clarke 6 Helping to Make a Difference 7 In the National Spotlight - Amanda Cheetham ’12, Kenneth Dean and Lauren Shirley ’12 7 Chart: SUNY Cortland 2011-12 Sources of Funding 8 Educating Champions: The Campaign for Cortland - Donors Champions for Cortland 9 Lifetime Giving Recognition Societies 9 Small Steps, Big Impact - Karen Valko ’80 10-11 Partners in Leadership 11 Stepping Up - Michael LaPointe ’00 12 The Lofty Elm Society 13-14 Memorial Gifts 14 Cortland College Foundation Board of Directors 15 Honorary Gifts 15 Dragon Dialers 16 Our Dedicated Volunteers 17-32 Alumni Gifts 18 Chart: A Summary of Gifts 19 Chart: 2012 Class Reunion Gift Campaign 33 Faculty, Staff and Emeriti Gifts 34-35 Friend, Foundation and Organization Gifts 35 Parent, Student and Family Gifts 36 Corporate and Matching Gifts 37-41 Gifts in Honor of Students 41 Gifts in Kind 2 A Message from the Chair Every gift Matters When I joined the foundation board of directors and we began talking about a fundraising campaign, the first expert we consulted told us we’d be lucky to raise $16 million. Boy was he wrong. At the end of my final eary as board chairman, I am happy to announce that Educating Champions: The Campaign for Cortland raised an additional $3.5 million during the 2011-12 fiscal year. That brought our campaign total to $22.6 million with one year remaining to reach our $25 million goal. Generous donations from alumni, students, faculty and friends have strengthened the Cortland College Foundation. They’ve enabled deserving students to attend SUNY Cortland, enriched existing programs and helped create new educational experiences. With help from our donors, SUNY Cortland professors and students have shared innovative research and ideas with the world, helping to shape the In Fall 2011 SUNY Cortland launched the public portion of national and international conversations on important social Educating Champions: The Campaign for Cortland, an issues and scientific understanding. ambitious effort to raise $25 million by 2013 to help support core College priorities. By working together, we have accomplished a lot. The foundation is deeply grateful for the major gifts provided through our planned giving and naming programs. But we are CaMpaign goal $25 Million also extremely proud of the breadth of support we’ve received from the thousands of SUNY Cortland alumni who gave what they could in a struggling economy. $20 Million Last year, more than 4,000 alumni gave gifts of less than $1,000. Whether it’s an annual pledge of $50 from a retired teacher or a first-time donation of $20 from a recent $15 Million graduate, these contributions add up. SUNY Cortland has always valued teamwork. We work $10 Million together to achieve big goals, whether it’s winning an athletic championship, raising our academic standards or ensuring that all deserving students have access to a SUNY Cortland $5 Million education, regardless of income. That may be what the “expert” failed to consider when he said our goal of $25 million wasn’t possible. As I pass the leadership torch to new board chair Louise Conley, I am 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 confident that SUNY Cortland’s legions of supporters will continue to prove him wrong. Year Amount Cumulative Total We have eight months remaining. By working together, —————————————–––––––———–––——––— we can reach, and surpass, our campaign goal by the end of 2008-09 $4.7 million $4.7 million the 2012-13 fiscal year. 2009-10 $11.1 million $15.8 million We may have a broad and ambitious vision for the College, but to make it a reality, every dollar counts and no 2010-11 $3.3 million $19.1 million gift is too small. The time has come for all of us to once again become SUNY Cortland champions. 2011-12 $3.5 million $22.6 million 2012-13 NA NA The fiscal year ends on June 30. Brian G. Murphy ’83, Chair, Cortland College Foundation 3 The great outdoors Raquette lake literally transformed the life of this faculty member and alumnus. He’s spent more than a decade sharing the natural gem with others. orey Ryon ’99 has trekked to SUNY Cortland’s Center for Environmental and Outdoor Education at Raquette Lake so many times — nearly 100 by his count — that his friends Cjokingly suggest he should change his address. The truth is that Ryon, who lives in Cortland, was so moved by his initial encounter with Raquette Lake’s majestic, Adirondack beauty that it caused him to make serious changes in his life as a student. “Watching students A self-described couch potato at the time, he was overweight and socialize — just seeing them addicted to his electronic gadgets when he started college. Then, in 1996, he was introduced to Raquette Lake. outside and making up their “I went up there and it just changed my entire outlook on life,” said own games — it’s fantastic.” Ryon, a former recreation major who today serves as an instructor for the It’s much more than a College’s Health and Physical Education departments as well as an assistant coach for its swimming and diving teams. getaway destination in the These days, he sings Raquette Lake’s praises to anyone willing to listen. Adirondacks, it’s nature at He remembers his first campfire at the main dock like it happened yesterday. He can tell you about the morning swims he has shared with its finest.” sports teams from the College, and he can validate just how much fun it is to kayak with a group of physical education majors. Ryon has witnessed a lot during 13 years of trips to the Adirondacks — “countless” facility and equipment improvements, powerful team- building trips, Raquette Lake’s designation as a National Historic Landmark in 2008, just to name a few. And he knows there’s a lot more to come. Educating Champions: The Campaign for Cortland includes a priority goal of raising $1.5 million for the Raquette Lake Development and Enrichment Fund, which will enable the College to share this potentially life-changing experience with every interested SUNY Cortland student. The fund will support an endowment to help students overcome transportation and access issues. 4 Making Every Step Count lifting the Weight living the Dream He traveled nearly 1,200 miles to play hockey for SUnY Cortland. Thanks to a SUnY Cortland teaching program and a scholarship a serious accident that injured his father nearly derailed his it provides, his goals to teach in new York City and change his college experience until scholarships saved the day. students’ lives are within reach. Brittan Kuhlman’s father always supported his son’s dreams. When Aspiring teacher Davon Clarke, a SUNY Cortland junior childhood the senior outdoor recreation major from Elkhorn, Neb., traveled education major, is determined to work in the tough neighborhoods with his parents for hockey tournaments as a youth, Kuhlman of New York City, where he plans to dispel harsh urban stereotypes often awoke in hotel rooms to his father, a federal court reporter, one child at a time. typing away at transcripts. “We need teachers who bring the right passion,” Clarke said. “When I was growing up, my dad just lived to work,” said “And that’s me. I try to be impactful.” Kuhlman, who would fall back asleep to the soft tapping of the keys. It didn’t take long for Clarke to realize his calling; his own high Allan Kuhlman and his schoolteacher wife, Judy, needed to school in Middletown, N.Y., included a diverse population with work to support their son’s sports dream, which Brittan estimates students from different backgrounds. can cost up to $20,000 per year when all expenses are considered. “I’ve always known that I wanted to reach out to students With their support, Brittan played on amateur teams in from areas like where I come from,” he said. Colorado and a handful of cities in Canada before earning a spot This year, he was accepted into Cortland’s Urban Recruitment on SUNY Cortland’s roster. of Educators (C.U.R.E.) program, which offers an annual scholarship But in the summer of 2010, an unthinkable accident shook his worth nearly $4,000 to students who are willing to study courses family: Allan fell 25 feet from the roof of his house. The injuries related to urban education and commit to two years of teaching included broken fingers, arms and wrists. in an urban area upon graduation. He would never be able to work again. For Clarke, the scholarship eases a financial burden that he “The one thing he was worried about was school and helping wasn’t sure he could afford. But he said the program’s biggest to pay for it,” Brittan said. “He thought he put our family in payoff is the hands-on experience he gains at elementary schools financial jeopardy.” in urban areas. This fall, he travels to Percy Hughes Magnet School Brittan returned to Cortland determined to pay his own way. in Syracuse, N.Y., once a week to observe and work with students. He worked as much as he could.