Recent Grads Give Back

Think $20.08 is a lot to give to your alma mater after four years of tuition? It’s probably less than you spend to fuel your weekly caffeine habit. “We like to think of it as equal to four lattés,” says Brendan Fallon (CAS’08), cochair of the 2008 Class Gift Campaign and annual giving coordinator in the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. “It’s really not anything ridiculous.”

This year, graduating students got the message. The goal of the 2008 Class Gift Campaign was to raise $100,000, with 20 percent of students participating. As of Wednesday, May 21, the campaign had raised $107,500, with 16 percent of the class participating. On top of that, BU alums Meyer Koplow (DGE’70) and Ellen Koplow (DGE’70, CAS’72) matched donations, up to $100,000, to the University’s general support fund, ultimately generating over $200,000 for the Annual Fund, which supports BU’s schools and colleges, financial aid, and student life.

“Surpassing the $100,000 goal was a great accomplishment for the 2008 Class Gift Campaign, and I hope to see the same motivation and success for the 2009 Class Gift Campaign,” says Rachel Laquidara (SED’04), the associate director of annual giving. “This University-wide effort includes over $70,000 raised by the Graduate School of Management graduates, as well as a 133 percent increase in undergraduate donations.”

Students can choose where their gift goes, and this year, Fallon says, schools and colleges have been the most popular selection. Past gifts have funded the chemistry department’s colloquium series, which brings national researchers to share their current work with University students and faculty, and renovated the CAS hallways, providing seating and laptop power stations. Money from College of Engineering graduates helped the BU Academy FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics team, mentored by ENG students, compete with other high school students in the regional FIRST Robotics competition at Agganis Arena.

Students can also put their money into the Student Life Fund, which is used by the Dean of Students Office to fund student activities and programming, such as BU Central and the Community Service Center. They can also give to BU Athletics or to need-based scholarships — and a gift of $20.08 can be used to honor a favorite BU professor, too.

This year’s campaign staff is still seeking student participants, who can help boost BU’s rating in the U.S. News & World Report America’s Best Colleges rankings, where 5 percent of a school’s score is based on alumni donations.

Fallon says that as a freshman, he never thought he’d donate money to BU, but now he knows that each student’s participation can make a difference. “BU helped me, and now it’s my turn to help students like myself,” he says. “Not only will these funds make my degree more valuable, but they help students have the same opportunities as I did, whether it be the excellent professors in CAS or the events through the Student Activities Office. It makes the BU experience what it is.”

Amy Laskowski can be reached at amlaskow@bu.edu.