ACU Partnering in the Journey Campaign

Partnering in the Campaign

‘Who are you,

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aul of Tarsus asked this question on the road to Damascus, where he met Jesus in a real and powerful way. The answer would leave his life utterly transformed, as the power of God moved him to spread the gospel around the known world.

As a result, history would never be the same.

Similarly, thousands of young men and women arrive in Abilene, Texas, every fall, asking their own questions. They seek a meaning to their life, a reason to believe or a mission about which to be passionate.

And they, too, meet Jesus.

Perhaps not in a blinding light or on the side of a road, but the experience is no less real as they discover the power of God at work on the campus of ACU. They find their calling, they learn how to lead through service, they prepare to spread that power throughout their world, transforming generations as Paul did before them.

But no one can do it alone. Paul enlisted the support of friends such as John Mark, Barnabas and Silas, as well as groups of Christians such as the church in Philippi, to partner in his life journey.

Likewise, our students also need a partner willing to support them as they begin their journey into God’s calling. They need you, and their need is greater now than ever.

The rising costs of providing an exceptional higher education mean more and more students are struggling with how to afford ACU. We have taken steps to ease their burden, but if they are to complete their journey, they need your partnership to make it more affordable.

Few students have graduated from ACU in its 106-year history without the partnership and support of alumni and friends they never even met. Some of the amazing students whose journeys otherwise would have been impossible include:

Jordan Bunch (’09), a student in the Graduate School of Theology and residence director of

Edwards Hall, will graduate with a master’s degree in domestic missions with no debt, what he describes as a tremendous blessing for his family and his calling. As he earns his degree, he is shaping the lives of the freshmen and sophomores under his care.

Alyse Ritchie (’12) is a fourth-generation ACU student with a passion for helping adolescent girls, and no other university had as academically rigorous a ministry program for women as ACU did. To receive the education she needed, she cobbled together five scholarships to pay for more than half of her tuition.

Alex Potess (’11) received an incredible opportunity to use her pre-architecture degree and help shape the interior decoration of ACU’s two newest facilities – the AT&T Learning Studio and the Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

After leaving her mark on campus, Alex is going on to intern with a nonprofit organization designing ecotourism lodges in Indonesia.

“Don’t be conformed to the pattern of this world,” Paul wrote in the 12th chapter of his letter to the Christ-followers in Rome, “but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is – what is good and pleasing and mature.”

As ACU partners with these students to help them figure out God’s good and pleasing will for their lives, we ask that you prayerfully consider the data, stories and opportunities detailed in the following pages and think about how you can partner with us and – more important – with them as they seek to follow Paul’s history-changing journey into the world. n 1

percent of adults surveyed by the Pew Research Center said college was too expensive for most Americans to afford.

The national landscape

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inancing a college education has never been easy.

Since ACU’s earliest days as Childers Classical Institute, families have sacrificed to provide a faith-based education for their sons and daughters.

In 2012, we are facing a perfect storm of events that dramatically affects how our students pay for an ACU education.

The 2007-09 financial collapse and recession have had wide-ranging influence. Parents who planned ahead with college savings often have found those funds significantly eroded.

In addition, pressure in the job market has led to chronic unemployment and underemployment, as well as large numbers of foreclosures and bankruptcies. Cash-strapped state governments responded by cutting grant and loan aid for higher education, and federal policy moved toward austerity, leading to further student-aid reductions.

These events leave many families struggling to contribute toward their children’s education as their finances are ravaged by job losses, evaporating college funds or shrinking disposable income. According to a May 2011 survey by the Pew Research Center, 75 percent of surveyed adults said college was too expensive for most Americans to afford. At the same time, the overwhelming majority of college graduates in the same study (86 percent) felt college had been a good investment for them personally. n

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Majoring in debt

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he Project on Student Debt reports 67 percent of college seniors who graduated in 2010 have student debt averaging $25,250 per student.

According to the Pew Research Center, this level of debt can cripple dreams of graduate school, starting a family or home ownership. It can even affect careers as graduates in lower-paying industries seek better pay outside their area of expertise.

In the 2009-10 school year, 70 percent of ACU students graduated with debt from state, federal and private sources, and those students carried an average debt load of $38,634. n

Closer to home

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he vast majority of ACU students come from Texas. In January 2011, state officials grappled with a $27 billion budget deficit. Legislators chose to address the gap with massive cuts in spending, including cuts to the Tuition Equalization Grant (TEG), which is a critical piece of aid for Texas students with financial need attending ACU. The university’s TEG allocation dropped from a recent high of $4.56 million in the 2009-10 school year to $3.13 million in 2011-12, including a decline of nearly $600,000 from 2010-11.

This most recent cut had the potential to reduce the financial aid packages of 175 ACU students, based on an average per-student TEG award of $3,400. ACU decided to cover that shortfall out of its operating budget so these students would have the aid they expected for the year.

ACU endeavors to be the premier university for the education of Christ-centered, global leaders.

To achieve that goal, we must address the core questions of cost and affordability – with the partnership of our committed and generous friends and alumni. n

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The steps we’ve taken to

increase

AFFORDABILITY

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Annual block tuition

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eginning in Fall 2012, ACU will charge for tuition on an annual block-payment basis – a move born from an effort to find ways to make the education we provide more affordable.

Students will be charged a set price for taking anywhere from 24-36 hours of classes in a school year.

The price will be based on a 15-hour courseload each semester, which means students can take as many as 6 hours for free every year, including in the summer. This should encourage students to graduate sooner and allow them to do so with less debt, taking fewer hours away from ACU, especially in the summers, and providing the university with a more predictable flow of revenue.

This plan continues ACU’s recent trend in pushing innovative solutions to the challenges

The price – $26,770 for the 2012-13 school year – includes all required student fees but does not include room and board, course-specific fees or individual charges such as mailbox fees. Because it shortens the time students are in school, annual block tuition can dramatically reduce the cost of an ACU degree. A student taking full advantage of the plan could save more than $17,500 from what he or she would pay on a per-hour basis.

Prepaid tuition

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or several years, ACU has offered parents and guardians of future students the option of paying for tuition years in advance, locking in current prices. Students or their parents may purchase as few as 10 or as many as the full 128 credit hours required for graduation at any time, paying the current tuition rates and avoiding the uncertainty of tuition increases during their collegiate career.

Annual block tuition at a glance In 2003, ACU joined more than 200 Tuition and Fees Comparison* private colleges and universities from Number of Hours 30 Hours 32 Hours 36 Hours across the country participating in the Hourly Rate (old plan) $26,770 $28,555 $32,124 Independent 529 Plan, a way for families Annual Block Rate (new plan) $26,770 $26,770 $26,770 to lock in discounted tuition rates for One-Year Savings to Student $0 $1,785 $5,345 their children’s future education by * Based on 2012-13 tuition and fees. New block rate includes a 5.9 percent increase over 2011-12 tuition. depositing funds in 529 accounts.

Degree Savings* 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total Hrs. The certificates generated by the 529 Number of Hours 30 30 30 32 122 plans are accepted at any participating Averaging 30 Hours Per Year $26,770 $28,109 $29,514 $33,056 college or university, including ACU. Number of Hours 36 36 36 14 122 Maximizing Block Tuition $26,770 $28,109 $29,514 $15,495 While these steps are helpful – * Based on a freshman entering ACU in Fall 2012 with 6 hours of credit, tuition increasing an average and we believe annual block tuition in of 5 percent each year, and the student needing to earn 122 more hours to earn a 128-hour undergraduate degree. particular will make great strides in helping students reduce their debt – we need committed partners willing to make the confronting higher education. Few other schools journey through ACU possible for students who still include summer courses in their block-pricing plan, need help. On the following pages, you will find requiring payment for those classes separately. ways you can partner with our students, as well as We believe students and their families will find this examples of students and alumni whose journeys plan convenient and affordable, utilizing summer would have been impossible without the support of hours more often as the cost savings of doing so generous leaders such as you. n becomes clear.

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Changing

DIRECTIONS V

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ictoria Costa’s journey would look a lot different today without Kay Onstead. Victoria’s parents were ACU alumni, and she grew up dreaming of making the cross-country journey from their North Carolina home to Abilene.

However, Victoria’s father is a minister, and cost was a significant factor. She instead planned to attend a state university near her home.

“I’d already dealt with not going to Texas,” Victoria said, recalling her mindset the final week of summer before she started college. “I had talked myself into it. I was ready.”

Then she received a phone call. She had been accepted to receive an Onstead Scholarship, awarded to ministers’ children each year, often when all other financing options have been exhausted. Classes started in less than a week, and ACU suddenly was affordable for Victoria’s family.

The next day, she received a call from Dr. Gary McCaleb (’64), vice president of the university, who personally selects the Onstead Scholarship recipients each year. He urged her to change her plans and come to ACU; her parents also supported the move.

Victoria received word of the scholarship on Aug. 13. By Aug. 16, she was driving across the country with all of her belongings crammed into her car.

Victoria Costa

“All the things you’re going through to decide where you go to college, I went through in four days,” she said.

Kay Onstead has heard stories like that before.

Each year, she attends a dinner with each of that fall’s Onstead scholarship awardees. They eat together and tell her about their plans and hopes.

“I’m just delighted that she got it,” Onstead said. “I meet the students every year, and it’s the highlight of my year.”

Forty-one students received an Onstead scholarship for the 2011-12 school year, and more than 170 have benefited from the program since Kay and her late husband, Robert, established the endowment in 1989.

The Onsteads never attended ACU – had never even heard of the university until as a young married couple they met a group of ACU alumni at their Houston church. They were so impressed with their new friends, they vowed that their children would attend ACU. Ultimately, three of them did.

As parents, Kay and Bob began giving liberally to the university – helping construct the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies Building and creating the Robert R. Onstead Business Endowed Scholarship fund.

“Once you get your children out there, you see what’s needed,” she said. “That’s the best investment in the world you can make – in Jonathan Pruitt, another Onstead Scholar, and Kay Onstead

students. We’ve had nothing but good come from all of that.”

Perhaps the best, she says, is the Onstead Scholars program. She has partnered in the journeys of hundreds of students – all of them unable to afford an ACU education until they were awarded scholarships funded by the endowment she and her husband established.

“I think I get more out of it than they do,” she said.

“It’s just such a blessing for me. I feel like they are going to go out and make a difference in the world.”

For Victoria, an Onstead Scholarship provided the opportunity to spend a semester in Montevideo, Uruguay, her father’s home country, and meet his family. A senior advertising and public relations major, Victoria plans to attend graduate school to prepare for a possible career in corporate communications.

“I met people here I know I would never have met in North Carolina,” she said. “I think ACU really gives you an education that integrates your spiritual life more than any other school would.”

When Victoria met Kay Onstead for the first time, she had a hard time finding the right words for the woman whose generosity radically reshaped her life’s journey.

“She helps a lot of kids,” said Victoria, whose tuition has been cut by more than half through scholarships.

“When that scholarship came in, that’s how I knew I would be able to go. It’s really hard to explain how appreciative you are.” n

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Opportunities for

PARTNERSHIP E

ven in the midst of extremely challenging times, students want and need the

exceptional faith-based education ACU offers.

In the most recent survey of students who applied to Abilene Christian but chose to

attend elsewhere, the top two reasons for their alternate selection were proximity to home (27 percent) and the financial aid package offered (24 percent). Increased scholarship endowment, while benefiting all students, could help the university target several key prospective-student populations.

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Students from ACU core families

Farron Salley (’12)

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s an anchor for the JMC Network’s weekly news broadcast, Farron is receiving hands-on training toward her goal of being a network news anchor.

But the senior journalism major comes from a single-income home in a low-income Fort Worth neighborhood. Despite growing up in Churches of Christ and knowing she wanted to attend ACU, she needed partners.

“Cost was a huge issue,” she said. “It was something me and my mom prayed a lot about.

We just prayed that God would find a way to provide. ... You’re funding someone who wants to make a difference and start giving back.” n

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hese students are the children or grandchildren of ACU alumni, or have significant history with Churches of Christ.

Core students are typically more familiar with ACU’s campus culture, have more relationship connections when they arrive and are more likely to complete their degrees.

Yet the economic environment has made it increasingly difficult for them to afford ACU – and often they are turning to regional state universities.

While many have vibrant Christian populations and outreach efforts, they can never provide the faith-infused experience ACU can.

We want to aggressively recruit these students to continue the legacy of Christian education their families hold dear. To do so, we must provide financial aid packages narrowing the cost gap between ACU and our competitors. n

Samuel Palomares (’11)

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s a high school freshman in Elsa, Texas, Samuel learned about Abilene Christian for the first time as the translator for a group of ACU students on a mission trip to Victoria, Mexico. He was amazed at their passion for God and willingness to serve others.

However, two other universities were offering Samuel full-ride scholarships, and his father’s salary wasn’t enough to pay ACU’s tuition. Samuel’s admissions counselor referred him to the Lynay service-leadership program, which provides scholarships for students in need while also mentoring those in the program. “It was almost the exact amount I needed,” he said. “The Lynay scholarship was definitely a big part of my coming here.”

Samuel is continuing his studies in communication in graduate school at The University of Texas at Austin. He also is helping make scholarships possible for current students as a monthly donor. “I don’t have much money,” he said, “but I believe in the mission. You don’t have to be rich to give back. It’s doing what you can and supporting what you’re passionate about. Every small gift counts.” n

Expanding markets

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s ACU’s national visibility expands, particularly in the area of mobile learning, we have increasing exposure to students with no prior connections to ACU. These students are people of faith yearning for a place where they can grow spiritually and academically as they begin their journey.

They are often high-achieving students, courted by many institutions, both private and public, and they have high expectations for academic rigor, faith development, leadership, service and financial aid.

High-performing students help raise the bar for ACU, as they bring diverse backgrounds and experiences to help shape our campus culture.

In addition, students who enter Abilene Christian with high test scores and exceptional high school experiences graduate at a much higher rate. We must provide financial incentives to help these students choose ACU over our competitors. n

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Zechariah Manyok Biar (’10)

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hen he was given the opportunity to study in the United States, Zechariah didn’t hesitate. As a former soldier, in training since he was 12, who fought for South Sudanese independence, Zechariah saw higher education as a way to shape his hoped-for future nation politically.

Receiving a full scholarship to earn a master’s degree in Christian ministry, the Oak Ridge Church of Christ in Fort Worth partnered with him to fund a second master’s degree, in social work. He completed both in just three years, all the while taking what he learned from ACU professors and applying them to columns he wrote regularly for Sudanese newspapers, urging his countrymen back home to avoid corruption, uphold the rule of law and work peacefully for independence.

In January 2011, Zechariah stood in line for three hours to cast his vote for independence. In July, freedom came, and Zechariah entered the government of the world’s newest nation, serving since then as a consultant for various ministries, helping them set up long-term strategic plans. n

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High-need students

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he economic downturn has made an ACU education impossible for many. The cuts in gift aid from state and federal governments have put ACU out of reach.

Yet what better place could there be than ACU for an ambitious young person, perhaps a first-generation college student, to make his or her college journey? We are equipped to grow servant leaders; programs such as Lynay and Pulse have proven that high-need students can blossom at ACU when surrounded by a caring community and passionate mentors.

This group of prospective students is most likely to be hurt by high levels of student debt. Likewise, high-need students are least able to take advantage of life-changing enrichment opportunities such as studying abroad. n

Students in the gap

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tudents with above-average ACT scores from middle-class families want to attend ACU. These young people are often tremendous student leaders in their high schools and communities, but because they are not in the highest test-score ranks and do not have the lowest incomes, they often receive little of the financial help they need.

Because they understand the value of an ACU education, they often are willing to incur significant debt to attend. It is critical to provide financial-aid opportunities to a broad spectrum of families so we can ensure that ACU remains a diverse and service-oriented community. n

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Max Lucado (’77)

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go to my grave thankful for this institution of Abilene Christian University, which introduced me to the living presence of Jesus Christ,” says best-selling author Max Lucado, ACU’s most famous alumnus and America’s “Best Preacher,” according to Reader’s Digest.

Max says he came to ACU with the habit of getting drunk every Friday night. His roommate, Steve Green (’77), compelled him to attend church; and Max was often hung over went he went.

But a freshman Bible class taught by Dr. Carl Brecheen (’52) began to change his life.

“Dr. Brecheen began describing a Jesus I had never seen,” Max told an ACU Summit audience in September 2011.

“By the end of the semester, I was on the front row.”

Max went on to spend time as a missionary before returning to be a minister and author. More than 60 million copies of his books have been sold over the past 25 years. Equally important, Max partners with current students beginning their own journey by giving generously to several endowed scholarships. n 15

SOLUTIONS for the 21st Century

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he 21st-Century Vision strategic plan, created in 2009 to

guide the next phase of Abilene Christian’s development,

focused clearly on the need to increase endowment. Doing so will provide additional financial stability and revenue, and the plan set a goal of $450 million in endowment by 2013. As of Dec. 31, 2011, ACU’s endowment stood at $289 million.

ACU’s endowment is managed by an award-winning team led by chief investment officer Jack Rich. The investment team’s sole mission is to wisely steward gifts entrusted to ACU over the years, and its record of success is amazing. ACU’s endowment return of 8.9 percent over the 10-year period ending June 30, 2010, was one of the highest of all universities nationwide.

Gifts to endowment ensure a consistent revenue stream over time, and they are a core component of ACU’s ability to provide financial aid each year. In the 2010-11 academic year, endowment earnings provided about half of the $21 million in scholarships ACU distributed to students.

Our hope is that visionary donors will be our partners in building an endowment worthy of the outstanding students who attend this university. A $50 million campaign focusing on unrestricted and restricted scholarship endowment will strengthen our ability to provide opportunities for our students’ college journeys, both now and well into the future. n

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The Don and Carol Crisp Student Affordability Endowment

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on Crisp (’64) served ACU with honor on the Board of Trustees from 1984-2007, presiding as its chair from 1992-2007. He and his wife, Carol (Croson ’64), have supported ACU financially for many years. Their generosity has helped provide endowed scholarships in music, athletics and education, as well as professorships in the College of Business Administration. They also have contributed to many campus initiatives and facilities, and Don served as co-chair of ACU’s $150 million Centennial Campaign.

Throughout his tenure on the board and continuing today, Don has been a strong advocate for improving affordability for our students. We honor that commitment by naming this endowment in recognition of Don and Carol’s many years of influence in the ACU community. n

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UNRESTRICTED Scholarship Endowments A

s the financial-aid system grows increasingly complex, it is crucial to provide as much flexibility as possible in granting awards to incoming students. Students draw on a variety of sources to pay for their tuition – family contributions, state and federal grant aid, student or parent loans, outside scholarships, departmental scholarships, and unrestricted scholarships such as A.B. Barret awards, Presidential Scholars awards and Lynay or Pulse scholarships.

Those who want to have the greatest effect on students of all majors, genders and backgrounds could invest in the following:

Don and Carol Crisp Student Affordability Endowment Friends and associates of Don and Carol Crisp are partnering with them to establish a scholarship endowment with the potential to significantly increase the dollars available each year for unrestricted scholarships. Gifts to this endowment will be a

special way to honor Don and Carol for their years of service to ACU.

Unrestricted Honor Endowments What better way to honor someone special than to establish a scholarship endowment in their name?

An unrestricted honor endowment would provide scholarships for ACU students in perpetuity – a living, ongoing reminder of your gratitude to that special person.

Honor endowments have been used in a variety of ways to recognize loved ones. Often family or friends of the honoree pool resources to fund an endowment; at other times, these scholarships are funded through planned-giving vehicles such as charitable trusts or estates. No matter how they begin, scholarships are distributed to students each year, and the initial gift itself continues to grow, launching future generations of students into journeys of their own. n

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Paying it Forward

Projected annual payouts based on the size of the endowment:

$1 MILLION $500,000 $100,000 $50,000 $25,000 two full-tuition, four half-tuition or 18 $2,500 scholarships

two half-tuition or nine $2,500 scholarships

two $2,000 scholarships

one $2,250 scholarship

one $1,125 scholarship

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RESTRICTED Scholarship Endowments W

hile unrestricted endowments provide the most flexibility, restricted scholarships can be a helpful part of the total financial aid picture for ACU students. Special circumstances or donor wishes can lead to the formation of scholarships targeted at a particular segment of the student body.

The following are examples of some restricted scholarship endowment opportunities.

The Great Reversal Scholarship Born from a desire to break cycles of despair and hopelessness in urban neighborhoods, the Great Reversal Scholarship is more than money – it is a process to identify, prepare, mentor and fund students from neighborhoods of hopelessness.

This process would begin early in the student’s 10th-grade year and would include a variety of experiences such as campus visits; mentoring relationships with both ACU faculty and home-based supporters; and assistance navigating the academic, financial and social aspects of preparing for college.

While at ACU, university and local resources will help ensure the student has what is needed to thrive in school, and recipients also will be expected to mentor younger students coming through the program.

For years, current ACU donors have quietly paid the tuition of students from challenging backgrounds.

Unfortunately, many of the students have had limited

success on campus because the cultural shock has been difficult to overcome. The Great Reversal Scholarship is an attempt to provide the funding and the framework to help these students succeed.

Study Abroad scholarships Study Abroad (or other “study away” experiences) can be formative for ACU students. As we seek to educate Christ-centered global leaders in the mold of the Apostle Paul, it is important to provide experiences that broaden their views of the world. By graduation, about 25 percent of the current student body will have studied abroad at some point during their tenure at ACU. Our goal is that at least 50 percent of ACU students have that experience. The university’s expansion of overseas facilities includes Leipzig, Germany, as well as short-term opportunities around the globe, providing the additional opportunities needed to reach this goal.

However, for many of our students, studying abroad is simply not feasible financially, and this disproportionately affects minority and lower-income students. Study Abroad scholarships would provide assistance in covering costs beyond the typical room and board they would pay in Abilene. A $50,000 Study Abroad endowment could help fund a $2,250 scholarship, offsetting much of the expense for a student ready to see the world. n 21

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Willa B (Sloan ’34) Patterson

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rom birth, Willa B (left) and her sister, Opal (’31), knew they would attend Abilene Christian.

Their parents were dedicated to Christian education, a commitment now reaching to the fifth generation.

Willa B, now 99, began giving to ACU in 1937.

The school teacher sent a letter to president Don H. Morris, asking for $1 to be drafted from her bank account every month.

Seventy-four years later, she still gives consistently to ACU. Over time, it has added up – nearly $124,000, of which about $40,000 has helped fund endowments named in honor of her brother; Dr. Royce (’64) and Pam (Handy ’65) Money, the former president and his wife; and Dr. Charlie Marler (’55), the longtime journalism professor, among many more. She also has included ACU in her estate plans, her generosity leaving a legacy that will last for countless generations. n

Ko Jo Kai Endowed Scholarship

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n 1990, Ko Jo Kai alumni from the 1940s began a biannual scholarship auction to benefit current ACU seniors who are members of the social club.

In 21 years, the Kojies have awarded 310 such scholarships and now distribute four of them each year.

In 2009, Chris (White ’46) Kyker issued a new challenge: to create a $50,000 endowed scholarship to continue providing those scholarships in the coming decades, even if future generations stop holding the auction. In two years, the fund has grown to about $36,000. More than 40 women regularly give either to the auction or the endowment – most give to both.

“We feel it’s really important to show alumni support to the Kojies,” said Glenda (Fowler ’62) Ravanelli. “Whatever we can do to be helpful.” n

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Your chance to

PARTNER with our STUDENTS D

onors who provide endowments have a vision for the future.

They are willing to plant now and wait two, five, 10 years and more, watching as the seed bears fruit in the lives of young women and men. As Paul did, those students then go out to bless communities, businesses, schools, churches and people in need across the globe.

Would you be part of their future by investing in an endowed scholarship? We hope to raise $50 million in new endowed scholarships, which could generate more than $2 million in annual scholarship awards. Imagine how many students you could influence through your partnership!

Please prayerfully consider how you can help secure a student’s future – and their journey – today. n

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Our Promise ACU is a vibrant, innovative, Christ-centered community that engages students in authentic spiritual and intellectual growth, equipping them to make a real difference in the world.

110930-0212

acu.edu/journey