ALUMNI MESSAGE
WASHINGTON, DC Scholarship Celebration at Annual Parsons DC Chapter Event 12 Dean Joel Towers and Parsons board of governors chair Sheila Johnson with lead donors to the Parsons DC Alumni Scholarship: Dee MacDonaldMiller, BFA Environmental Design ’75; Debra Gilmore, BFA Environmental Design ’81; and Tom Grooms, BFA Architectural Design ’75. Lead donor not pictured: Bob Bilicki, BFA Fine Arts ’81
13 Tom Grooms and Jackie Gray, MA History of Decorative Arts and Design ’07
14 Joel Towers, Sheila Johnson, guest, and Eric Steiner (Parsons parent)
15 Guest and Nicole Miles, AAS Fashion Marketing ’08
The Power of Participation Parsons DC Alumni Establish a New Scholarship 11 Erin Stine, assistant director of Admission, and Julie Doerschlag, AAS Interior Design ’96
11 Sheila Johnson
When a group of Parsons graduates combine their skills and talents, anything is possible—even creating a new scholarship. The Parsons DC chapter of The New School Alumni Association recently established a scholarship, funded by nearly 40 alumni, that will provide $5,000 in tuition assistance each year until 2014 to a Parsons student from Washington, DC, who demonstrates financial need. Charlotte M. Ensign, a sophomore enrolled in the BFA Architectural Design program, has been chosen as the first recipient of the scholarship. She says, “Receiving this scholarship has helped a great deal towards making my dream of attending school in Manhattan a reality. The financial support offered by The New School was a huge factor in my decision to attend Parsons The New School for Design.” The scholarship initiative shows the power of participation and the difference gifts of any size can make in helping a project or program succeed. It has also given alumni a way to help current students and leave a tangible legacy to the university. Contributors and other alumni celebrated the success of the scholarship drive in September at kstreet lounge in Washington, DC.
A number of people made the scholarship initiative possible, but Dee MacDonaldMiller ’75, a senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle, played a central role. Ms. MacDonald-Miller helped launch the Parsons DC chapter in September 2009 and now serves as chair. She was recently appointed to the New School Alumni Association board, along with Parsons alumni Martha Alexander ’79 and Michael McKinnon ’05. In its first year, the chapter has built a diverse membership that includes graduates from most of the degree and certificate programs and from the classes of 1944 through 2009. The chapter is a dedicated group whose activities include an annual networking event, prospective student recruitment, a working group for the Solar Decathlon (see pages 12–15), and fundraising for the scholarship. There is still time to participate. If you would like to make a gift, join the chapter, or kick off a similar effort in your area, contact Jessica Arnold at the following address: arnoldj@newschool.edu
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