The University's honors programs must continue to improve their budget outlooks in the wake of declining funds to remain competitive and to continue attracting high-caliber students. The Rodman Scholars Program has the correct idea by deciding to start its own endowment, which will not only grant it more independence from the University but also give the program the financial capacity to expand its scope and size. As fundraising concerns occupy the thoughts of the leaders of these honors programs, it is important that each group develop its own model to best suit its specific needs.
The Rodman Scholars Program - which encompasses the top 5 to 6 percent of undergraduate Engineering students - has seen its budget decrease by 12 percent during the last three years and is looking to supplement its funding by creating an endowment from private contributions. These funds will allow the program to grow in the areas of outreach, community service and student research, Program Director Dana Elzey said.
The endowment will help the Rodman Scholars Program invest in new projects and strengthen current ones to capitalize on the program's strong points. In addition to funding the staff and other expenses associated with Rodman-only courses, the endowment will help support programs that appeal to prospective students and current ones alike. Elzey hopes the endowment will enhance the Rodman experience by financing "sustainable technology initiatives" and undergraduate engineering research that lets students design independent projects. Assuming these opportunities are properly showcased for prospective students, such efforts should make the Rodman Program more enticing and be yet another selling point for the University.
The Rodman Scholars Program could take this effort one step further by strengthening existing programs that promote a worldly engineering perspective for its students. For example, the endowment could help bolster the program's international opportunities, such as the annual Rodman Scholars Global Ingenuity Program in Germany and other areas of research and design. Such programs set the Rodman Scholars Program apart and seem to interest prospective students greatly. These programs are expensive, but the potential to attract talented students is well worth the investment.
The Echols Scholars Program in the College, on the other hand, has different needs that necessitate a different method for accruing funds. Currently, the Echols Scholars Program is almost entirely reliant on private funds and does not receive an annual budget from the University, Echols Dean William Wilson said. The funds collected support undergraduate research, Wilson said, and are important to offer scholars a different lens from which to view their studies. Wilson also hopes to create an Echols Scholars research journal, as well. Although the program may not need an endowment to carry out its objectives, the Echols Scholars Program must focus its efforts to appeal to donors and prospective students by highlighting available undergraduate research opportunities, not unlike its Engineering School counterpart.
Unlike the Echols and Rodman Scholars Programs, the Jefferson Scholars Foundation awards financial scholarships and therefore needs a much larger fundraising effort to balance the costs of rising tuition and fees. A lack of funding forced the Jefferson Scholars Foundation to enroll fewer students in 2009 despite launching an independent capital campaign in 2005, according to the its website. The Foundation must make a more sustained effort to trumpet the accomplishments and distinctiveness of the program to attract top-caliber students and to encourage donations. It aims to raise $100 million in private contributions by 2011 to offset any loss in funding from University sources.
As the Rodman and Echols Scholars Programs and the Jefferson Scholars Foundation have realized, fundraising is key to position the programs well for future successes. But the programs should not be treated as interchangeable, and each should embrace the financial model that best suits its needs and goals.
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