May 1997 Stories RU Receives $930,00 Estate Gift Strategic Plan In Place Doud Named Director of Major Gifts Business Cluster Applies Community Input to Curriculum RU Receives $930,00 Estate Gift RU's fund-raising campaign gained some momentum with the receipt of a $930,000 gift from the estate of Mae Jennings to establish an endowed scholarship fund. The annual income from investment of the money will be used to support the Radford Scholars program with priority given to students from Radford and Jennings' native Carroll County. Jennings died in 1994 at age 79. She received her two-year degree from Radford in 1934 and her bachelor's degree in 1939. She taught school in Carroll, Rockbridge and Montgomery county school systems in addition to teaching biology in Radford City Schools for 31 years. Jerry Hutchens, executive director of the RU Foundation, said that Jennings "decided to include RU in her estate plans after learning that friend and fellow classmate, Lanora Geissler Smith, had created a trust to establish a full scholarship at the university." Smith, a Radford alumna who published a history of her alma mater in 1970, was "very persuasive" in influencing Jennings' bequest to Radford, Hutchens said. U.S. District Judge James Turk, a Radford resident and member of the RU Foundation Board of Directors, had five children taught by Jennings in public school. Turk remembers Jennings as a "very committed teacher who enjoyed her retirement years working on her family farm in Carroll County. "She was a very down-to-earth person who did not care much for material things," Turk said. "She was the kind of person you would not associate with wealth." Radford graduate Nell Hatcher taught with Jennings at Radford High School for many years, and describes her colleague as "the kind of teacher students would appreciate later in life. She demanded their best." TOP Strategic Plan In Place "The institution which has no plan will know neither where it is going nor whether it has arrived. The successful organization is one which has created a vision, has a plan for transforming it into reality, and knows who will be sharing the adventure." These words of President Douglas Covington open the university strategic plan, titled "A Shared Commitment to Excellence." The plan identifies eight university priorities, sets specific goals under each and outlines strategies for achieving the goals. "The planning process itself was a participatory process designed to elicit broad, constructive involvement from the university's various constituent groups, including faculty, staff and students," said Covington. "This broad, meaningful participation was crucial to the process in that it allowed each group to identify with the plan and share a commitment to its successful execution." Vice president for academic affairs Ann Ferren, who has led the plan's development since her arrival at RU last summer, said she is pleased with the level of participation in the process, which she considers a major strength of the plan. Faculty, students and staff have enthusiastically brought their ideas to the table through a series of forums, workshops and a fall retreat. What emerged was the basic expectation that RU is expected to contribute to economic development and job creation while pursuing its vision of preparing students to become responsible citizens of their local communities, their states, their nations, and the world, according to the plan. The pursuit of student learning is the driving force behind all planning and action in the university, and all departments and programs are expected to engage in meaningful assessment leading to continuous improvement. The plan expresses RU's commitment to liberal arts education and recognizes the importance of technological literacy, experiential and collaborative learning and career development. The eight "University Priorities" established in the plan call for the university to: increase student enrollment, progression and graduation enhance the quality of student life and stimulate social development recognize and promote existing academic programs and scholarship expand the curriculum to increase innovative academic programs and activities upgrade and maintain physical resources and facilities ensure careful fiscal planning and thorough, efficient management increase financial support through fund raising and conservation of resources and enhance internal and external relations. TOP Doud Named Director of Major Gifts Long-time RU employee Jenny Doud has been appointed director of major gifts at the university. An RU employee since 1976, Doud has been director of alumni affairs since 1981 and was responsible for planning and implementing all aspects of alumni relations including events, fundraising, and volunteer recruitment and training. Her knowledge of RU and experience in fundraising are qualities that will help her play an integral role in university advancement division projects and initiatives. She will personally manage and solicit large donations, as well as direct prospect research, tracking and involvement in RU fundraising events. Prior to her position in alumni affairs Doud was assistant director of personnel as well as assistant director of admissions. She earned both her bachelor's degree in journalism and her master's in educational media from RU. TOP Business Cluster Applies Community Input to Curriculum RU's continuing evaluation of its role in the community has led to the development of a Business Industry Cluster (BIC). This new board was created to advise RU on issues related to the educational needs of the business community and ways to produce students prepared for the marketplace. It focuses on the strategic issues related to continuous improvement of RU's educational program. In June 1996, President Douglas Covington formally asked business, industry and government representatives to serve as charter members of this innovative new cluster. "The time has come for the education and business to work closely together, helping one another, for a more successful future," says Covington. "Through the Business Industry Cluster, we propose to forge a broad and meaningful working partnership where organizations will have input in the content of university services and its curriculum." All cluster activities have a central theme showcasing the scope and quality of services RU can offer to the business sector. The group's annual spring meeting coincided this year with a presentation by the university's 1997 visiting executive Jay Martin. A senior marketing director for Coca Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated of Charlotte, N.C., Martin met with BIC leaders as well as students, faculty and regional business people. Covington says the support of the visiting executive program is just one aspect of how BIC members can assist the university. "First and foremost among the group's goals is to enhance our students' educational experiences through such activities as internships, externships, cooperative education and career counseling and placement." According to BIC's chairperson Stephen Cassaday '76 of Great Falls, the BIC group hopes to provide insight on what the business community needs from RU graduates. "The creation of the cluster shows the genuine interest the university has in reaching its full potential. It's the sign of a great organization when it gets people to work together to be the best it can be, and I'm proud to be part of that," says Cassaday. Inaugural members of the cluster include several RU alumni and other prominent business representatives. Members are: Charles Barfield '85, The Kroger Co. Lynne Baumgardner '90, Interim Personnel Douglas Bowman, Crestar Bank Stewart Bruce, Graham White Manufacturing Co. Clay Carney '82, BET Holdings, Inc. Stephan Cassaday '76, Cassaday and Company, Inc. Taylor Cole, Central Fidelity Bank Walter Cox, Xaloy, Inc. Lisa Dezzutti '83, Market Connections Bev Fitzpatrick, The New Century Council Carroll Gentry, Virginia Western Community College Flo Graham '61, M.S. '67, Virginia Economic Bridge Ben Harris '80, Harris General Contractors Helen Harvey, '63, M.S. '66, New River Community College Susan Lancaster, Bell Atlantic - Virginia Tom Leonard, Stew Leonard Jeff Milloy '77, The Milloy Group Clinton Morse, Flippin, Densmore, Morse, Rutherford, and Jesse Fred Newhouse, First National Bank Anoput Phimmasone '88, Wheat First Butcher Singer Jeffrey Price '86, Price-Williams Realty Christine Rochester '78, Opus Event Marketing Greg Rooker, Family Community Newspapers of Southwest Virginia, Inc. Scott Silverthorne '88, Capital One Andy Stefanovich, Opus Event Marketing Terrance Suarez, Wytheville Community College Mike Taylor, Union Carbide Corp. Leonard Terranova, The Kroger Co. Melodye Tomlin '78, First Virginia Banks, Inc. Preston Trible '79, Tribles, Inc. Jack White, Newell Industrial Corp. and Al Woolridge, Salem Tools, Inc. TOP