Letter From the Director

FROM THE DIRECTOR

CEW+ has always served as an advocate for underserved communities. During these trying times, the need for CEW+ to be a voice for nontraditional students at U-M has increased. The negative health, emotional, and economic impacts of COVID-19 have a larger impact on the communities we serve.

In this issue of CEW+ News, we are highlighting our scholarship program, as we prepare to mark the 50th anniversary of the CEW+ Scholar community. When our founder, Jean Campbell, set out to start the scholarship program she ultimately revolutionized financial aid at Michigan. Our Scholarships were the first financial aid awards to part-time students at U-M and they lifted up the stories of women returning to school after a gap in education or while raising their children.

Today, as we navigate the shifting challenges of the pandemic and the resulting economic impacts, we find ourselves creating systems and services to meet the immediate needs of those we serve. But as I write this letter unsure of when this pandemic will end and what the summer and fall will bring, I am sure that this work will serve nontraditional students at Michigan better for the longer-term, not just now. We invite you to learn more about the Emergency Fund partnership agreements we have forged across campus and how we have taken our programs and services virtual during these days of social isolation and working from home.

Jean was certainly a champion of nontraditional students and we are all thankful for her tenacity and grit. As we work to serve students today, we think she would be proud of the similar resolve that our staff is demonstrating now.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of awarding scholarships, donors to the Center created the Potential Made Possible fund. During this pandemic, our Scholars are showing remarkable resilience. Join us in marking sure that this fall we can welcome even more students into the CEW+ scholar community by making a gift today.

Be safe. Be healthy. And in the words of Jean Campbell - onward and upward my friends!

Sincerely,

Tiffany Marra CEW+ Director

* We know that the current pandemic will evolve and our lives will continue to change in the time it will take for this publication to reach you.