{"id":4103,"date":"2018-10-16T10:12:48","date_gmt":"2018-10-16T14:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/?p=4103"},"modified":"2024-05-07T13:36:19","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T17:36:19","slug":"gathering-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/gathering-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Gathering together"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jonathan Meer, vice president for University Advancement, announced the public launch of a campaign to raise $15 million in private funding to support student scholarships at Monmouth University at a kickoff event during a meeting of the Board of Trustees in October. The fundraising effort, Together We Can\u2014The Campaign for Scholarship<\/a>, will include all gifts and pledges made to scholarships from July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe campaign is ambitious in its scope and timing,\u201d Meer said. \u201cMembers of our Board of Trustees and thousands of others in the University family want to provide much-needed support for our students while honoring the student-focused tenure of President Dimenna before the end of his term as Monmouth\u2019s ninth president.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who know Monmouth, especially our trustees, alumni, parents, faculty, and staff, are keenly aware of the impact of scholarships on the recruitment and retention of academically qualified students, and this campaign is a critically important way to strengthen the University\u2019s commitment to accessibility for those who seek a Monmouth education. It will also highlight President Dimenna\u2019s legacy at Monmouth,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Dimenna\u2019s commitment to student scholarships is personal as well as professional. In addition to frequently expressing gratitude for the scholarships that aided his own education, the president and his wife have established the Grey Dimenna and Nancy Kaplen Distinguished Endowed Scholarship, with a pledge of $75,000.<\/p>\n

Trustees Valerie Montecalvo and Carol Stillwell are serving as campaign co-chairs and coordinating the efforts of a team of volunteers who represent a broad spectrum of the University community.<\/p>\n

\u201cMonmouth is a relatively young University, and the financial needs of students are out-pacing the growth of endowment funds designated to support scholarships,\u201d Montecalvo said. \u201cThat\u2019s why this campaign is so important.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stillwell echoed that sentiment. \u201cMonmouth cannot depend upon a sizable endowment built over centuries and across many generations,\u201d she said. \u201cPrivate support is needed to increase scholarships so that the University can continue to attract and retain the best and brightest students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stillwell\u2019s passion for higher education stems from her own lack of access to college as a young woman. \u201cCollege was never a realistic option for me,\u201d she said. \u201cMy parents could not afford to help me with tuition, and I had to work to help support our household. During my time associated closely with Monmouth students I have seen the tremendous impact of a comprehensive education firsthand,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For more information about the campaign, or to make a gift of support, please visit monmouth.edu\/together<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Top Image: Members of the campaign committee pictured after a September planning meeting (l\u2013r): Mary Lee Bass \u201992M; Leah K. Lazzaro \u201904M; Dean Robin Mama; Rita L. Mangan \u201977; Patricia Ralph; Jim Pillar; Trustee Thomas Michelli; Senior Class President Nicholas Verzicco; Antoinette \u201cToni\u201d Musorrafiti; Dean John Henning; Campaign Co-Chair Valerie Montecalvo; Raymond N. Brunt Jr. \u201977, \u201978M; Joyce DeJohn; Dean Steven Bachrach; Cynthia Fair; Harry Silver; John \u201cJack\u201d Ford; Alumni Association President Karyn F. Cusanelli \u201989; Richard L. Ricciardi \u201886M.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new campaign will support student scholarships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":4107,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"image_focus":"{\"x\":42,\"y\":46}","hide_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-currents","category-tides"],"thumbnail":"\"\"","catString":"Currents, Tides","issue":"Fall 2018","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4103"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4103\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4767,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4103\/revisions\/4767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.monmouth.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}