Recently in Scholarships Category

My Development colleagues and I had a busy and productive trip to New York City this past December. We met with alumni and donors, and our message resonated strongly with everyone.

Our message was twofold: 1) we must keep moving forward and can't afford to wait for the appointment of a permanent dean and 2) our fund-raising efforts in the near future will focus on faculty support (for chair positions, professorships and faculty development), and student support (for programs, services and scholarships). I have already outlined the need for scholarship support in my previous blog post, but now I want to underline and explain the value of growing our faculty support.
 
The reputation of an academic unit is due to its faculty and the success of its alumni.  Recruiting and retaining talent is difficult in professional schools (such as business) because, in addition to the competition within academic circles, faculty have attractive employment opportunities outside academia.  The endowment of chairs and professorships is the most effective mechanism by which business schools have been able to attract and retain outstanding faculty. Accomplished full professors (i.e., faculty members with the highest academic rank) are attracted to academic positions that include endowed chairs or professorships that recognize their scholarship and that provide the financial resources to pursue ambitious research and teaching agendas. Also, the availability of endowed chairs and professorships gives large incentives for junior faculty to commit to a long term academic career within the same school. Finally, endowed chairs and professors are more likely to attract additional external resources from industry and government agencies.

While schools comparable to Leeds often have 20 endowed chairs or professorships, we unfortunately have only 6 named professorships. This low number compared to the great opportunities that come from additional endowed chairs and professorships is why we are devoting significant effort to securing additional funds for faculty support.

In a difficult economic climate, the importance of a strong scholarship program in an institution of higher education is extremely important.  With declining financial support from the state,  Universities are forced to rely more and more on tuition for operational expenses.  Tuition increases are then necessary to keep up with the rising cost of delivering high-quality programs.
 
A case in point is an announcement of the California Board of Regents approving a 32% undergraduate tuition increase over the next two years.  In some states, in-state tuition is still within reach for a significant sector of the population but out-of-state tuition has become a luxury item in most cases.  At the same time, public institutions have a societal obligation to provide access to higher education to motivated students whose situation does not allow them to afford four years of tuition and fees.  As a scholarship student in my native Mexico, I had the opportunity to attend the prestigious Monterrey Institute of Technology.  Because of the partial scholarship that I received, I accelerated my degree and finished in 3.5 years in order to contribute of my family finances instead of draining them.

In a recent issue of Newsweek, former US Education Secretary Lamar Alexander made the case for a "three-year solution" to bachelor degrees on the basis of cost-efficiency and the competitive advantage of attracting bright, motivated students.  Alexander argues that "the three-year degree could become the higher-education equivalent of the fuel-efficient car."  The counter argument is that there are benefits to the full four-year college experience.  Looking back, I would have liked to have the flexibility of attending an extra semester to take additional courses, participate in university events and interact with professors and my fellow students.
 
This is why at the Leeds School one of our primary fundraising activities is to increase our scholarship funds.  While I believe that the three-year plan has merits, the savings might not be enough to allow many students with excellent qualifications and attributes the access they deserve to higher education. We believe there is a critical need for a focused effort to secure sufficient resources to provide scholarships.

Please click here to learn more about giving to our scholarship programs.