Alumnus' legacy of learning inspires giving from alumni and friends

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Alumnus' legacy of learning inspires giving from alumni and friends

"Brian (McIntyre) was one of those people who made Ohio University home," said Jennifer Bowie, executive director, Advancement Communication & Marketing, who was a journalism student with McIntyre in the early '90s.

A number of alumni and friends of McIntyre, who died of cancer in May 2012, established The Brian McIntyre Memorial Fund to provide urban high school students with funding to attend the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism's High School Journalism Workshop. Held each summer on the Athens Campus, the approximate cost to attend the workshop is $250, which includes instruction, room and food costs.

"The Brian McIntyre Memorial Fund will give the University community an opportunity to remember Brian once a year," Bowie said.

McIntyre graduated with a bachelor's of science in Journalism in 1991. He worked in broadcasting and was a reporter for Cleveland's WEWS NewsChannel 5, the Ohio News Network (ONN) and WNWO-TV. McIntyre most recently worked as a community relations specialist for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

McIntyre often came back to OHIO to volunteer his time and talents. He participated in events at the WOUB Center for Public Media and attended the Ohio University Alumni Association's Black Alumni Reunions. He also taught at the High School Journalism Workshop, which is an intensive two-and-a-half day workshop that teaches high school students print, online, broadcast and multimedia journalism.

McIntyre was passionate about continuing the education of minority students-specifically from urban areas-in the field of journalism, Bowie said.

"He was always advocating for more underrepresented voices in journalism, particularly broadcast journalism. He was dedicated to helping students find passion in journalism and this memorial fund is honoring Brian's legacy while encouraging students to consider a journalism career," she said.

"He was an incredible alumnus," said E.W. Scripps School of Journalism Director Robert Stewart. "Brian was part of my big plan for the High School Journalism Workshop."

Stewart said he will create a committee to evaluate potential Brian McIntyre Memorial Fund scholarship recipients.

To make a gift to the Brian McIntyre memorial Fund, contact The Ohio University Foundation at 1-800-592-FUND or giving@ohio.edu. Checks may be made payable to The Ohio University Foundation (be sure to write " McIntyre Fund" in the notes section) and send to the foundation at P.O. Box 869, Athens, Ohio 45701. Gifts also can be made online at ohio.edu/give.

Source: Ohio

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OU debuts competitive scholarship program

The fight for the best college students is like "hand-to-hand combat," and Ohio University will soon have an additional weapon in the fray, OU President Roderick McDavis said.

University officials recently unveiled plans to replace the Gateway scholarship program and to create $75 million in scholarship endowments by 2020.

The current system has worked well since its inception in 2005. But the program's rigid structure broadcasts its criteria to the university's competitors, which affords them a competitive advantage, said Pam Benoit, OU's executive vice president and provost.

The new program, which was developed by OU's Scholarship Task Force, will have an algorithm that will give prospective students personalized scholarship packages, said Craig Cornell, associate provost for enrollment.

"We've had more students say 'yes' because of the new (scholarship) package," McDavis said. "When we know where to spend our dollars, that makes a huge difference."

The program will apply to OU's next freshman class, with award letters detailing the program set to be sent to prospective students beginning in December 2013, Cornell said.

The university's scholarship taskforce, which started meeting last September, is revamping only the Gateway Program and is not touching specialty scholarship programs, like the Manasseh Cutler Scholars Programs, said Cornell, who chairs the taskforce.

OU spent $30,199,287 on scholarships in the 2011-12 school year, the most recent year available, spokeswoman Katie Quaranta said.

The majority of that figure is for undergraduates but OU does not break its scholarship awards down by grade level or campus, she added.

McDavis, Benoit and Cornell pointed to Bowling Green State University as a direct competitor for quality students. BGSU has dozens of scholarships for students with varying test scores, GPAs and abilities from different backgrounds, according to the university's financial aid website.

BGSU awarded more than $30 million in scholarships across the institution last year, according to the university's financial aid website.

The new OU awards - with a name that is yet to be determined - will allow OU officials to better tailor their scholarships to each incoming class, Cornell said. However, the program won't change OU's overall recruiting strategy.

"I don't anticipate a significantly aggressive change because I think our goal is to provide a quality education to all students," Cornell said. "(This program strikes) that balance between merit and need, both of those. ... What we're (working on) tends to be the bread and butter of a scholarship program for the institution."

Cornell said his goal is not to drastically increase the GPAs or test scores of incoming classes, but he believes the new program will let OU provide strong academic students with "a little extra assistance."

Coupled with the taskforce's work, the $75 million OU plans to put in place for scholarships over the next seven years shows an "exceptional dedication" to making OU affordable, Benchoff said.

"(We) want to create more scholarships for deserving students and for the university to make available that $25 million match, that's very uncommon," Benchoff said. "I can't mention another school, college, or university where (they) have taken that step to make that investment."

OU will contribute toward its $25 million commitment to the endowment as donors contribute to the fund, said Stephen Golding, vice president for finance and administration.

The university can begin spinning off the interest on donated dollars to students as soon as individual endowments reach their goal, Benchoff said.

"We do not have to wait until all $75 million is raised until we start giving out scholarships," Benchoff said. "As time marches on, that money will start to flow into the students' hands."

dd1957101@ohiou.edu

@WillDrabold

Source: Ohiou

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Trustees start new scholarship fund from millions left in university's surplus

The Board of Trustees started a new scholarship fund by allocating millions of dollars in university surplus at its most recent meeting last Thursday Aug. 29.

"The new fund currently totals $25 million, but Ohio University officials hope to increase that fund to $75 million with money from donors," OU President Roderick McDavis said at the board's retreat.

"We will go out and tell them for every 50 cents we put in, they'll put in a dollar," McDavis said. "Our hope is that we're able to identify some of our current scholarship programs as well as some new scholarship programs that people may want to contribute to."

At the board's June meeting, Craig Cornell, vice provost for enrollment management, outlined OU's new scholarship goals to be implemented in the 2014-15 school year.

In Cornell's presentation to the board, he claimed OU's current scholarship model is clear but very restrictive and no longer competitive with peer institutions.

The new model will be more flexible and "determine student enrollment behavior based on aid received and their likelihood to enroll," he wrote.

"We're not interested in matching a scholarship program that's (highly) specific," Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit said. "We've designed the program to be very broad."

dd195710@ohiou.edu
@WillDrabold

Source: Ohiou

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Electrical engineering student receives Ohio tech scholarship

An Ohio University electrical engineering junior in the Fritz J. and Dolores H. Russ College of Engineering and Technology has been awarded a $2,000 scholarship by an OHIO partnership whose mission is to advancement Central Ohio's innovations.

Bestowed by TechColumbus, the 2012 TechTomorrow Scholarship was created to recognize students who may be the future leaders in the computer science and IT fields.

Anthony George, a junior from Sunbury, Ohio, who is studying in the computer engineering track, said he was relieved to receive the award.

"I'm currently relying on significant aid from my parents and grandparents for tuition and my study abroad experience," he said.

George, who is minoring in computer science and Japanese, is on a study abroad trip fall semester at Chubu University in Aichi, Japan.

"We want to congratulate Anthony for all of his accomplishments," commented Tim Haynes, vice president of marketing and membership for TechColumbus. "He is a very deserving scholarship recipient and, no doubt, he has a promising future."

George said he is with group of about a dozen OHIO undergraduates, studying Japanese for up to five hours a day.

"We took part in some tsunami relief projects in late September, but we've since returned and began classes," George said. "We also have many opportunities to meet native speakers outside of class."

A member of the Eta Kappa Nu Engineering Honors Society, George is also involved with the Ohio Program of Intensive English, which offers opportunities to meet students around the world through interactions such as conversation partners. He plans to enter the field of signal processing or communication systems and make use of his Japanese knowledge in a professional setting.

Source: Ohio

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