June 12, 2008

Morningside College receives national award for educational fundraising

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has presented Morningside College with the 2008 CASE Award for Educational Fundraising.

Morningside is the only school in Iowa among the 49 schools from across the nation that CASE recognized for overall performance in educational fundraising programs. Well-known schools that also received the 2008 fundraising award include Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, Princeton University in New Jersey and Claremont McKenna College in California.

“It’s really an honor for Morningside College to be recognized along with some the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities,” said Morningside President John Reynders. “This award from CASE was made possible by the dedication and hard work of Tom Rice, vice president of institutional advancement, and our institutional advancement staff. Morningside also is fortunate to have tremendous support from our board of directors, alumni, friends, faculty and staff.”

Reynders noted that Morningside is in the final phase of its “This is Our Moment” fundraising effort to support annual scholarships, facility upgrades and the college’s endowment. Launched in 2002, the campaign has raised approximately $43 million to date, including $9 million for annual scholarships, $9 million for endowment and $25 million for capital projects. The campaign is scheduled to end May 31, 2009.

Capital projects funded through the “This is Our Moment” campaign include the Hilker Campus Mall, the Waitt and Poppen Apartments, Lags Hall, Elwood Olsen Stadium renovation, Irving F. and Elizabeth Jensen Softball Complex, Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center-Allee Gym renovation, Yockey Family Community Room, main dining room renovation, physical plant building, Buhler Outdoor Performance Center, Lieder Family Fountain, Kline Family Pergola and Roadman Hall renovation.

Each year CASE recognizes exceptional development programs based on data submitted to the Council for Aid to Education's (CAE's) "Voluntary Support of Education" survey. The survey is conducted annually by CAE, an independent subsidiary of the Rand Corporation, and cosponsored by CASE and the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).

CASE, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the largest international association of educational institutions, serving more than 3,300 universities, colleges, schools and related organizations in 54 countries.