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Tuesday, April 3, 2007 9:48 PM CDT
Our View: Personal connection results in Cougill donation
By the JG/T-C Editorial Board
editorial@jg-tc.com
Eastern Illinois University reached out to its alumni during the successful $10-million “You Are EIU” fund drive which ended in early 2006.
Former Charleston Mayor Max Cougill and wife Mary put the “icing on the cake,” to use a cliche, with a $500,000 donation for restoration of the foyer in Old Main.
Both of the Cougills attended class on the third floor of Old Main. Their son Jeffrey and granddaughter Allison graduated from EIU.
After visiting Old Main and seeing the need for improvements, the Cougills made their commitment. “I felt that was where my heart was,” Max Cougill said. “And after having seen its current condition, I wanted to do something to help. It needs it.”
Alumni constitute one of the most important building blocks in the growth of public and private colleges in the United States. It is their largess that enables institutions of higher learning to enhance the quality of their programs and improve their infrastructure.
The donation the Cougills made helped restore Old Main’s foyer to the stately beauty that so defined it in the early 1900s. The money enabled craftsmen to chase the fade from its wood, install lighting fixtures more characteristic of the time when Old Main was new, and return the foyer to its original colors.
What the Cougills’ money wrought in the foyer and first-floor hallways of Old Main is all the more significant because it came from people who have a personal connection to the university.
The Cougills remember fondly those days when they attended classes in Old Main and how much their college experience meant to them. They are among a legion of alumni who have attended Eastern since Old Main threw open its doors in 1895.
EIU officials have intensified their efforts in recent years to encourage alumni to contribute to the university. And their efforts are bearing fruit.
Much of the credit for the success of the “You Are EIU” fund drive goes to Jill Nilsen, vice president for external relations; Karla Evans, executive director of development; and Steve Rich, director of EIU’s Alumni Services. They led the six-month drive to raise the $10 million.
Giving by alumni has grown to 10 percent, up 3 percent since 2003, as a result of the drive.
Despite the impressive fund drive, alumni gifts to the university remain relatively low among its peers in the top tier of Midwest universities offering master’s programs.
EIU is also listed as one of the top 10 public universities in the Midwest. However, only two others on the list have a lower percentage of gifts from alumni than EIU.
The catalysis motivating the Cougills to donate $500,000 was their personal connection to Old Main. In brightening the interior of that building, they also reinforced their connection to an institution that helped give them the tools to achieve success.
They, and other alumni, through their giving, are helping assure Eastern remains a high-caliber institution capable of meeting the needs of those it seeks to serve.
-- JG/T-C Editorial Board
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