D'Mensions Spring 2005.indd - D'Youville College

INTELLIGENTgivingempoweringphilanthropyhilanthropy philanthropyphilanthropyThe art ofphilanthropyis soempoweringthat itgives one thedesireto seefurthergiving givingpportunitiesopportunitiesandthe impetus impetusimpetusto act onimpetusthat those weidentify.impetusimpetusimpetusSince 1908, D’Youville has been in the vanguard of education inthe Western New York area – the first college in Buffalo, NewYork, to grant baccalaureate degrees to women, the second inNew York state after the College of New Rochelle; the secondcollege in Buffalo to grant degrees following Canisius College.Because of the vision of the Grey Nuns, who founded the college,D’Youville has not just kept pace with the times but has been a leaderin education.The college grew out of the prestigious Holy Angels Academy, theprivate day and boarding school for young ladies in elementary gradesthrough high school. The academy was established by the Grey Nuns ofthe Cross who came to Buffalo from their Ottawa motherhouse in 1857.When the Bishop of Buffalo, Rev. Charles Colton, in concert with SisterStanislaus Burns, applied to New York state for the charter, Holy AngelsAcademy became a separate entity, and D’Youville College was born.The charter was granted in April, 1908.The college’s early curriculum was purely liberal arts and studentsgraduated with a total of 160 credits. But as the decades passed theadministration saw other community needs. In the very early years ofthe college, a night school was established to provide access to, amongothers, the servants from the large residences that populated this westside of Buffalo. 1942, during World War II, saw the establishment ofthe nursing school because the need for nurses was so great. This visionwas ongoing. Social work, elementary education, business, gerontology,occupational and physical therapy, physician assistant, dietetics andinternational business were added to the college curriculum.An element of the D’Youville story always has been change;but it has been visionary, innovative and gradual. Today,a dramatic change is occurring and that is the continuallyescalating cost of educating our students. Spiraling expense,combined with decreasing state and federal support, makesit more necessary than ever for the college to have the ability to provideextra financial help to worthy students. In 1994, financial aid fromthe college was $1.8 million, having increased from the previous year’s$800,000. In the academic year 2003-04, the assistance jumped to $7.3million; this is a 400% increase from 1994.Without increased state and federal assistance and with less and lesscorporate support for small private colleges like D’Youville, it becomesinevitable that we go to our alumni and friends for the aid that will enableus to assist our students in reaching their dream of earning a baccalaureatedegree.A splendid way to provide the means to help students is by establishingan endowed scholarship. This is an excellent vehicle because it can beaccomplished over a period of years and provides the benefit of a taxdeduction.A named scholarship can be established with a gift of $20,000. It canbe funded over a period of time selected by the donor. The award is34