Vol. 38, No. 18

1-30-2007
By: Adam King

Campus Campaign begins this month

Communication shouldn’t be a problem for John Merrill when he and members of Engineers for Community Service volunteer to help a Honduran orphanage with HIV-positive children.

Merrill, director of the university’s First-Year Engineering Program, doesn’t speak fluent Spanish, but he will after taking a six-week language immersion course this summer in Mexico.

The course will be paid for in part with a $500 Staff Career Development Grant.

The grant program, subsidized entirely by donations, is one of 9,000 funds faculty and staff can contribute to during the Campus Campaign, which kicks off Feb. 1 and runs through April 30.

Merrill, who also plans to use his newfound skills for outreach to Ohio Hispanic students, is thankful for the funds.

“The grant not only offsets some expenses, it demonstrates to the college my goal is also worthy of consideration by others,” he said. “This will be valuable not only to me, but to the College of Engineering as we continue to attract a diverse group of students.”

Ohio State employees have shown a penchant for giving back to the university since the Campus Campaign began in 1985 — more than $114 million has been donated for research, building funds, scholarships, grants and more.

“The campaign is really about what you’re passionate about and what you believe in,” said Tina Thome, Campus Campaign director. “It’s been successful because faculty and staff can give to whatever program they want, unlike other university campaigns that pick a particular fund and ask for support. We’ve done that with the library fund, but it was the focus rather than the limit.”

Around 30 percent of university faculty and staff contributed last year, with the Alumni Association taking top honors with 100 percent participation.
Contributions went to more than 1,400 different funds.

“It really shows the variety of what people are interested in,” Thome said. “A lot of the donations went to medical research funds, but they also went to departmental funds for scholarships and research in various colleges. WOSU stations and the Wexner Center are also popular.”

For some, their Campus Campaign donation becomes a personal expression of their deepest emotions.

“I give to colon cancer research because my sister died of colon cancer, and I give to MS research because a dear friend of mine was recently diagnosed with this disease and I don’t want to lose her too,” said Michelle Hardin, Geriatrics and Gerontology program assistant.

Joan Ray, a systems specialist in Biological Sciences, could never get excited about giving to the Campus Campaign — until she found a fund that “spoke” to her.

“There is a fund called the Good Samaritan Pet Fund, which is used to provide treatment to injured stray animals and to pets whose owners cannot afford care,” said Ray. “As a pet owner, I found this fund to be very exciting. I have contributed each year and plan to keep on contributing to it.”

Some new additions to the campaign last year to simplify giving will be continued this year, including more personalized pledge cards that show each giver’s previous donation and where it went. Also, payroll deduction and credit card gifts can be made online at campuscampaign.osu.edu.

Those who contribute $2,500 or more via payroll deduction, cash, securities or qualifying gifts-in-kind will receive recognition from and inclusion in The Presidents Club (presidentsclub.osu.edu), the university’s most prestigious major donor recognition group.

For more information about the Campus Campaign, contact ccampaign@osu.edu or 292-3065.

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