Leaders of The Heart of the Michigan Difference campaign are pleased with results to date showing that 15,272 faculty and staff members have contributed more than $120 million to the University. But as 2007 winds down, Paul Courant and his new co-chair Patricia Warner encourage more members of the campus community to consider a gift, a pledge or a bequest to make an investment in the future of the University.
“As people think about giving, I hope that they will recognize that U-M is great, both in its quality and reach, and is worthy of consideration for their support,” says Courant, former provost and current University librarian and dean of libraries. “As a faculty member, I would like to see that every member of the faculty has thought seriously about contributing to our students, our libraries and the whole range of activities at U-M,” adds Courant, who also is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Economics and the Harold T. Shapiro Collegiate Professor in the Ford School of School of Public Policy.
Warner is associate director U-M Hospitals and Health Centers and chief administrative officer of the C.S. Mott Children’s and Women’s Hospitals. She also is the administrative leader of a fund-raising campaign for the new children and women’s hospitals, for which she has a goal of 100-percent participation by faculty and staff. She recently joined Courant as co-chair of The Heart of the Michigan Difference Campaign.
“For many of our staff and faculty, working at the U-M is not just a job — we are motivated by the research being done, by educating the future leaders in so many professions and the unique services we provide. For those of us in a position to be able to give, we serve as role models for others,” Warner says. “The most powerful statement to donors is to demonstrate the participation of our faculty and staff.”
The co-chairs say many faculty and staff give to their own units, while some donate to the U-M Health System or another area that has touched their lives in some way. For many of the community’s donors, the giving is about helping students.
For prospective donors with students in mind, the leaders offer a reminder that contributions to the undergraduate President’s Donor Challenge are due by Dec. 31. Gifts or pledges made by that date will receive a one-to-one match by President Mary Sue Coleman. The funds are to help undergraduates who otherwise might not be able to afford a Michigan education.
A recently launched President’s Donor Challenge for graduate and professional students runs through Dec. 31, 2008, and is another option to support students who wish to become the next physicians, lawyers, engineers, scientists and teachers. The match for graduate students is one for two.
Courant has been chairing the faculty and staff portion of The Michigan Difference campaign for about two years. During that time, he has talked with a number of people who have chosen to give to the University.
“They say Michigan is great, The Michigan Difference is real, and that they love working here and love working with the students.”
The faculty and staff effort is part of the $2.5 billion Michigan Difference campaign for all three campuses, which reached its goal in May, 18 months ahead of schedule.
For more about the Faculty/Staff: Heart of the Michigan Difference campaign and information on making a contribution, go to www.giving.umich.edu/facultystaff/flash.htm.
