affordability

Tag: affordability

Fox Cities students to benefit from Lawrence scholarship initiative; matching gift campaign raises nearly $52M

Mission accomplished.

Less than 15 months after presented a challenge of matching a $25 million gift from an anonymous donor for student scholarships, Lawrence University has more than met the challenge of its “Full Speed to Full Need” initiative.

Paulson-family_newsblog
The Paulson family — Sarah, Nick ’14, Tom, Mary and Erik ’16 — have established a scholarship that will target students in their hometown of Kaukauna.

Several recent gifts pushed the match total to $26.9 million, enabling Lawrence to establish an endowment of just under $52 million that will be used exclusively for scholarships to help meet students’ demonstrated financial need.

During the Full Speed to Full Need campaign, 48 new student scholarships were created, including one by a Kaukauna family that will directly benefit local students.

The Paulson Family Scholarship, established by Tom and Mary Paulson, and their three children, Sarah, Nick and Erik, will provide the full demonstrated financial need for four years to a Kaukauna High School graduate attending Lawrence.

With a focus on high-need applicants, the scholarship will be awarded once each year to a student for a total of up to four recipients. The goal after four years is a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior will attend Lawrence as a Paulson Scholar.

In the absence of a qualified student from Kaukauna High School, the full-need scholarship will be awarded to a student from any Fox Valley high school.

“Having a local family support Fox Cities’ students is extremely moving to me,” said Lawrence President Mark Burstein. “While Lawrence attracts applicants from across the country and around the world, we are honored that every year many local residents choose Lawrence. The Paulson Family Scholarship will help us attract and support excellent students from our own back yard.”

Tom Paulson said he wanted to create the scholarship in part because “Lawrence is often overlooked due to the financial barrier.”

“Our vision is to make Lawrence accessible to motivated students who may not have the financial means for a Lawrence education,” said Paulson, who graduated from Lawrence as a non-traditional student at the age of 32 in 1993 thanks in part to the financial support he received from the college.

Paulson-Scholarship_newsblog2Beyond Tom, the Paulson family connection to Lawrence includes son Nick, a 2014 Lawrence graduate who is employed at the college as a residence hall director and campus life student organizations coordinator, and son Erik, a senior at Lawrence. Sarah is a graduate of St. Norbert College. Like their parents, Nick, Erik and Sarah are all Kaukauna High School graduates.

Tom Paulson enrolled at Lawrence on a part-time basis in 1983 through a tuition remission program set up with the Institute of Paper Chemistry, where he was employed as a research technician. When the IPC relocated from Appleton to Georgia Tech in 1989, he and his wife remained in town but were left without the tuition remission program. Students must be enrolled full time to be eligible for scholarships and grants at Lawrence.

“The creative financial assistance Lawrence brought to the table enabled me to continue my education,” said Paulson, who re-enrolled in 1989 while also working full time as lab manager at Integrated Paper Services. “My professors were extremely generous and sensitive to my needs in balancing full-time work, class schedule, lab schedules and my family life. I can’t envision this type of accommodation at any other institution.”

“While Lawrence attracts applicants from across the country and around the world, we are honored that every year many local residents choose Lawrence. The Paulson Family Scholarship will help us attract and support excellent students from our own back yard.”
— President Mark Burstein

Paulson said Lawrence’s style of education and its focus on fostering creativity were important factors in his two sons following in his footsteps.

“Building strong personal bonds with administrators, professors and peers is vital for success academically, personally and professionally,” said Paulson. “Both of my sons thrived at Lawrence and have become critical thinkers with a passion for learning.”

Since announcing the Full Speed to Full Need matching gift challenge in September 2014, Lawrence received a total of 426 gifts. The support for the scholarship initiative was as broad as it was swift, with more than half the donors (236) contributing $500 or less. The college did receive 48 gifts of $100,000 or more, including seven of $1 million or more.

“When we embarked on this $25 million challenge, we thought it would take five years to accomplish,” said Cal Husmann, vice president for alumni, development and communications. “We are amazed that we were able to raise this amount of money in 15 months. We are so honored and inspired by the response of the Lawrence community who contributed to this initiative which makes Lawrence more affordable to more students. Every gift of every size makes a difference.”

For the 2015-16 academic year, 69 percent of Lawrence’s 1,500 students are receiving need-based financial aid packages that average $35,483.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College” and Fiske’s Guide to Colleges 2016. Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Outgoing Lawrence University board chair receives surprise honor: $1M scholarship fund named in his honor

Terry Franke_newsblog
Terry Franke ’68

As parting gifts go, Terry Franke could not have asked for a more meaningful one.

Franke, the outgoing chair of Lawrence University’s Board of Trustees, received a surprise going away present at the board’s recent Spring meeting: The establishment of the Terry and Mary Franke Scholarship Fund, courtesy of a $1 million gift from an anonymous donor given “in recognition of the amazing job he has done in the past four and a half years as the chairman of the Lawrence board.”

The $1 million gift will go toward Lawrence’s focused student scholarship campaign —  “Full Speed to Full Need” — launched last September with a gift of $25 million, the largest in school history. Lawrence alumni and friends since have contributed an additional $21.5 million in matching gifts for a total of $46.5 million toward a goal of $50 million. The funds will be used exclusively for endowed scholarships to help meet students’ demonstrated financial need.

“Terry Franke has led the Lawrence Board of Trustees during a time of immense growth and significant change for the university. I cannot think of a better way to acknowledge his service to his alma mater than this wonderful gift to establish the Terry and Mary Franke Scholarship fund,” said Mark Burstein, university president.

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Susan Stillman Kane ’72

Franke, a 1968 Lawrence graduate, has served on Lawrence’s Board of Trustees for 16 years, including as chair since January, 2011. He spent most of his career at Hewitt Associates, where he was a senior partner. More recently he has served as a senior consultant for Productive Strategies, Inc., a management and marketing consulting firm based in Northfield, Ill.

The end of Franke’s term as chair brings new leadership to the board. Susan Stillman Kane, an Oshkosh native who graduated from Lawrence in 1972, succeeds Franke as chair of the board. She has been a member of the board since 2002. During her tenure she has served in numerous leadership positions. Kane’s mother, Elizabeth Stillman, was a 1933 graduate of Milwaukee-Downer College, which merged with Lawrence College in 1964.

“It is a testament to the strength of the Lawrence community that after Terry’s incredibly successful tenure that the Board is fortunate to have someone as talented as Susie Stillman Kane to assume its leadership as the incoming chair,” said Burstein.

Kane, who resides in Swampscott, Mass., is a long-time dedicated community volunteer.  She spent 23 years on the board, including several years as board president, of the Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of Marblehead, Inc., which provides scholarships for high school seniors and college students from the community. She also has served as an elected town meeting member in Swampscott.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence Student Cost Increase Smallest in 20 Years

The cost to attend Lawrence University for the 2015-16 academic year will reflect the smallest rate increase in 20 years based on the recently approved budget by the college’s Board of Trustees.

Kim-Dickson_with-students_newsblog
At 9:1, Lawrence has one of the lowest student-to-faculty ratios of any college in the country.

The comprehensive fee for the next school year will be $52,950, an increase of 2.89 percent over the current year. The increase is the smallest since a 2.84 percent change for the 1996-97 academic year and is the second smallest in more than 30 years.

This moderate increase is due in part to the Lawrence community’s efforts to decrease operating expenses by 7 percent or $3.75 million over the next three years while preserving the quality of the education.

The comprehensive fee covers tuition, room, board, student activity and sustainability fees.

“I realize the financial burden that many of our students and families face, and I take seriously any increase to the comprehensive fee,” said Burstein, who has made affordability a cornerstone of his presidency since assuming the office in July 2013. “The cost of providing a rigorous and challenging academic experience, with a student-to-faculty ratio (9:1) that is among the lowest in the country, is indeed great. As we continue to improve this institution and its offerings to students, it is imperative that we work to find ways to moderate the increasing cost of the transformative education we provide.”

A focused campaign to raise student scholarship funds was launched last September with a gift of $25 million, the largest in school history. Lawrence alumni and friends have contributed more than $18 million to match this extraordinarily generous gift. These funds will be used solely to create endowed scholarships that help meet students’ demonstrated financial need.

“Efforts to raise funds and decrease operating costs are essential to the continued health of Lawrence and to the affordability of the education we offer for future Lawrentians and their families,” Burstein said.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.

Lawrence Cited Among Nation’s Best Values by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Lawrence University has been named one of the country’s best values among private colleges by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance in its 2014 annual list of the top 100 private universities and top 100 liberal arts colleges from among the nation’s more than 2,100 four-year, not-for-profit, public and private colleges.

Best Values NewsblogLawrence, ranked 96th, and the other schools selected for the 2014 list, represent the colleges that provide high-quality academics at a reasonable cost. Kiplinger’s draws its list from colleges that exemplify the attributes parents and students look for in higher education, including small class sizes, a good freshman retention rate and a high four-year graduation rate.

“It may seem counterintuitive to have so many private colleges—which generally look quite expensive—listed as ‘values,’” said Ken Anselment, Lawrence’s dean of admissions and financial aid, “but Kiplinger’s has hit the right notes in their assessment by shining a light on the return on the investment. It’s a subtle, but important shift in perspective.”

In compiling its rankings, Kiplinger’s measure academic quality and affordability. Academic criteria include the student admission rate, the test scores of incoming freshmen, student-faculty ratio, and the four- and five-year graduation rates. On the cost side, Kiplinger’s measures the sticker price, the availability and average amount of need-based and merit-based financial aid, and the average student debt at graduation.

About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2014 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Individualized learning, the development of multiple interests and community engagement are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.