Foundation Focus

Supporting Montgomery College—Today and Tomorrow

foundationfocus Vol. 2, No. 3

News from the Montgomery College Foundation

Fall/Winter 2008

Reaching new heights

Greetings!

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t’s my pleasure to join the Montgomery College family— and to work with you as we strive to close out our unprecedented $25 million Capital Campaign.

Campaign Reaches $20 Million Milestone $2.5 Million Raised Since Fall 2007 Foundation’s Campaign Kickoff

Times are Tough

This has been some year, from record-high gas prices to alltime lows on Wall Street. We’re all feeling the added pressure of “belt tightening” and “budget stretching.” It seems that uncertainty is the only thing we can be sure of in these tough times.

Give What You Can

If times are tough for us, it has to be even more difficult for our students. They need your support now more than ever. As you reflect upon the year and think of your giving plans during this holiday season, remember to give what you can­. Every donation makes a difference in the lives of our students.

Happy holidays to all of you and best wishes for a healthy and prosperous new year.

—Bruce Berman V.P. of Institutional Advancement Montgomery College and Executive Director Montgomery College Foundation INSideFocus Clark Construction Honors Retiree with $50K Gift

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Small Devices That Make a Huge Impact Professor Ashby Establishes $200K Bequest Alumnus Endorses Annuities

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Things are looking up! A little more than a year ago, Montgomery College Foundation Board Chair Doug Firstenberg, left, and Campaign Co-Chair Gregory Prince presented the Foundation with a check for $17,459,282 at the Campaign Kickoff Gala. The campaign recently hit the $20 million mark­.

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he Montgomery College Foundation recently achieved a landmark $20 million in private gifts for the Capital Campaign. This moves the Foundation closer to its goal of raising $25 million, which is the largest fundraising effort ever at a Maryland community college.

The funds raised will go toward student scholarships, facilities, innovative programs, and new curricula.

Among the major donors who have supported the campaign are The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, which donated $3 million to support the new visual arts center at the Takoma Park/Silver Spring Campus. The Foundation also received $1 million from the late Gordon Macklin, former president of the National Association of Securities Dealers.

The Foundation’s success involves the work of many people within the

College, but the Development Office deserves special recognition for its efforts. As the College moves toward the $25 million goal, it will take the continued work of the Foundation and the greater community to develop opportunities that will ultimately benefit students, faculty, and staff.

“We are so appreciative of your generous— and faithful support of our mission at Montgomery College.

Reaching $20 million is truly a milestone for this institution.”

—Dr. Brian K. Johnson President, Montgomery College

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DONORFocus

Clark Construction Group Honors Retired Employee with $50K Gift to College

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lark Construction Group, LLC, made a generous donation of $50,000 to create an endowed scholarship in construction management honoring recently retired employee “This amazing gesture from Clark Construction is a testament to Smith’s well-deserved respect…”

Joe H. Smith, who enjoyed a 30-year career at Clark. Smith now teaches full time in the College’s construction management program. Prior to his retirement as vice president at Clark, he served as an adjunct faculty member for eight years.

According to Mario Parcan, head of the College’s construction manage-

Montgomery College construction students, seen here learning about surveying, can now apply for the Joe H. Smith Construction Management Scholarship, thanks to a gift of $50,000 from the Clark Construction Group, LLC. Smith, who worked at Clark Construction for 30 years, is now a full-time instructor in the construction management program at Montgomery College.

ment program, Smith is an enthusiastic professor who is energized by the students and the learning environment at the College. His passion for teaching influenced him to pursue a career

Small Devices That Make a Huge Impact

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ow can a device the size of a credit card make a huge difference in someone’s life? James Fountain, one of three Montgomery College students who received a Milestone 311 digital

FOUNDATIONFocus The quarterly newsletter of the Montgomery College Foundation, Inc., is produced by the Office of Institutional Advancement.

Please direct questions to: Montgomery College Foundation, Inc. 900 Hungerford Drive, Suite 200 Rockville, MD 20850 240-567-7900 For information on major gifts, contact Valessia Samaras, Director of Development valessia.samaras@montgomerycollege.edu; 240-567-7493 For information on the annual fund, contact Kathy Stevens, Annual Fund Director kathy.stevens@montgomerycollege.edu; 240-567-4108 For online giving opportunities, visit www.montgomerycollege.edu/giving.

voice recorder and MP3 player, can confirm that good things come in small packages. The Montgomery College Foundation furnished the students, all of whom are blind, with the assistive technology.

The Milestone 311 enables users to record notes quickly, transfer files back and forth from computers, label

as a full-time educator. Parcan adds, “This amazing gesture from Clark Construction is a testament to Smith’s well-deserved respect and reputation among his colleagues at Clark.”

Disability Support Services, provided funds for the Milestone 311s, which cost about $400 each.

“I want to be totally independent,” says Fountain. “I use my laptop in class, I maneuver around campus, and now I don’t need a note taker. I want to be just like any other student.”

GIFTFocus

Creative Ways to Give “I WANT TO BE TOTALLY INDEPENDENT… I WANT TO BE JUST LIKE ANY OTHER STUDENT.”

folders with voice recordings, and play MP3 music files and podcasts.

Fountain, a 38-year-old psychology major, has high praise for the Milestone 311. “It’s small, portable, and convenient,” he says. “Now I can easily access the files and transfer the notes to my computer.”

The Foundation, responding to a request from the College’s Office of

Page Turner Help an MC student buy books for one semester. $400 Make Broad Strokes Provide funds for students’ art supplies and materials. $1,000

Play It Again, Sam Fund a one-semester scholarship for a music student. $2,000 Give a World Tour Provide students an opportunity to study abroad. $3,400 www.montgomerycollege.edu/giving

FoundationFocus |

endless possibilities

Professor Ashby Establishes $200K Bequest

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ongtime Montgomery College Professor Florence Ashby and her husband Laird Anderson, a retired educator, recently established a legacy of charitable giving at the College.

The gift, a $200,000 bequest, will establish the Florence Ashby and Laird Anderson Endowed Scholarship at

From the Chair

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with critical need, in spite of

hank you for all of your support in taking us over the $20 million mark!

It has truly been a journey over the past three-plus years of the Capital Campaign, from student stories of success to grand openings of new buildings to new and previously unimagined levels of giving.

economic challenges.”

Support from a Solid Foundation

“it is important to… support education and help students

Montgomery College. This $200,000 bequest is a pinnacle gift for both Ashby and her husband that will benefit students for many years to come.

Ashby, a math professor whose tenure at Montgomeory College began in 1966, has continuously supported the Montgomery College Foundation throughout her career. In May 1984, she established her first endowment, the Muriel Ashby Endowed Scholarship in memory of her late mother.

Ashby, fondly referred to as “Flo” by both faculty and students, is known for her affinity for students. She believes that “it is important to demonstrate appreciation to the institution that helped to mold and shape my career. I hope that my public dem-

Professor Florence “Flo” Ashby, seen here carrying the mace at Rockville Campus’s 40th Anniversary Convocation in 2005, believes it’s important to show appreciation to the institution that helped shape her career.

onstration of giving inspires faculty, staff, and students to support education and help students with critical need, in spite of economic challenges.”

For more information on wills or estate planning with the Montgomery College Foundation, contact Elana Lippa, director of gift planning, at 240-5675287; elana.lippa@montgomerycollege.edu.

While we have all been impacted by the unprecedented events of this fall, the Foundation is well positioned to continue to support the College. Last year, the Foundation’s support amounted to more than $1 million in scholarships and $1 million in grants.

And we will provide this support again this year.

We Cannot Thank You Enough

We realize it is a challenging economic time, but in these times the needs of our students only grow. Therefore, please help us again as we enter the home stretch of our Capital Campaign.

—Douglas M. Firstenberg Chair, Montgomery College Foundation

Dell Donates Laptops to College’s Macklin Business Institute

StudenTFocus

Alumnus Receives Kendall Transfer Scholarship ndrew Villardo ’07, who current ly attends the University of Maryland’s School of Engineering, was able to continue his studies and pursue a four-year degree in electrical engineering, thanks to receiving the Tech Council of Maryland’s Kendall Scholarship. The $5,000 scholarship is awarded to a Montgomery College student majoring in biotechnology or a technology curriculum who is transferring to a college or university in Maryland.

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Andrew Villardo, Phi Theta Kappa member and 2007 graduate of the College’s Germantown Campus, is majoring in electrical engineering.

ell, a longtime technology partner of Montgomery College, has generously donated 15 Inspiron 1420 laptop computers to Montgomery College’s Macklin Business Institute (MBI) honors program. Students receive a laptop as part of the MBI program. Dell’s contribution is helping to support the expansion of the MBI program to a full two-year program this semester. Formerly a one-year program, the MBI progam is now open to incoming freshman as well as continuing sophomores at the College.

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Alumnus Calls Gift Annuities Sure Thing in Uncertain Economy

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n 2003, Milton “Sonny” Clogg ’48 established a charitable gift annuity with the Foundation, one of many gifts that Clogg and his wife Alice have generously donated to the Montgomery College Foundation.

“Gift annuities are a great way for people to give a gift to Montgomery

ber of the first graduating class, and, later, the first honorary degree recipient.

The Milton F. Clogg Endowed Scholarship was the College’s first-ever fullyendowed scholarship. As the chair of major campaigns, Clogg has devoted a great deal of his time and energy to

“I enjoy receiving my

way for people to… receive a

“Gift annuities are a great fixed payments each quarter, especially in uncertain economic times...”

College and receive a stream of fixed payments for the rest of one’s life,” says Clogg. “I enjoy receiving my fixed payments each quarter, especially in uncertain economic times when other types of accounts are not doing as well. My gift annuity gives me a peace of mind that is hard to come by these days, and the charitable deduc-

stream of fixed payments…”

Sonny Clogg ’48, speaking at the 10th anniversary celebration of the Homer S. Gudelsky Institute for Technical Education in 2003, recommends gift annuities in uncertain economic times.

tion I took when I first established the annuity helped decrease my taxable income at that time.”

Clogg, who entered the College after completing his World War II military service, became among other things, the first student government leader, a mem-

MC Professor Stein Establishes Scholarship in Memory of Son

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ospitality Management Professor Peter Stein and his wife Andree recently established an endowed memorial fund in the name of their son, Zachary, 19, who was killed in a motorcycle accident on August 23 near Camp Lejeune, Zachary Adam Stein North Carolina, where he was stationed. He was a member of India Company, 3rd Battalion, 9th Regiment, 2nd Marine Division.

Prior to joining the Marines, he had been a student at Montgomery College. Zachary Stein participated in the JROTC program at Gaithersburg High School. The Zachary Adam Stein Memorial Scholarship will benefit high school students who graduated from an ROTC program and plan to attend Montgomery College. If you wish to contribute to this scholarship, please contact Valessia Samaras at 240-567-7943 or e-mail valessia.samaras@montgomerycollege.edu.

900 Hungerford Drive, Suite 200 Rockville, MD 20850

encourage members of the community to contribute to the College’s mission.

Sonny and Alice Clogg’s commitment and dedication have established a tremendous legacy—one which few will be able to match and for which the College will always be grateful.

For more information on charitable gift annuities with the Montgomery College Foundation, call Elana Lippa, director of gift planning, at 240-5675287; elana.lippa@montgomerycollege.edu.

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