Volume 1 | Issue 1
Spring
2009
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How to give to the Carolina Family Scholarship
Campus aims to expand endowment for Carolina Family Scholarship
By Claire Cusick
Launched in 2005, the Carolina Family Scholarship provides need-based tuition scholarships to the children of qualifying Carolina employees who wish to attend any of the 16 UNC campuses or community colleges in North Carolina. Now, Carolina hopes to raise the endowment supporting it to $1 million.
A committee of faculty and staff, assisted by the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid, awards the scholarships. The Carolina parents of students who’ve received awards so far include office and program assistants, a campus security guard, a construction estimator, a social research assistant and a dental assistant.
“The response to this program among Carolina employees has been fantastic. We want to help more of their children to study at the campus of their choice.”
» Elizabeth Dunn
To date, 18 students have received awards, and they attend 10 different schools, including Carolina, N.C. State, Appalachian State and Durham Tech.
“The response to this program among Carolina employees has been fantastic,” said Elizabeth Dunn, senior associate vice chancellor for development. “We want to help more of their children to study at the campus of their choice.”
Bruce Egan
Bruce Egan, who directs the Information Technology Services Response Center on campus, spearheaded the effort to establish the fund.
“We all work for an educational institution, so what better program to support than one that helps the children of our colleagues go to college?” he asked. “And since they can attend any UNC campus or community college, it’s another example of Carolina helping support education throughout the state.”
Egan puts his money where his mouth is and contributes to the fund through payroll deduction, which, he says, allows him to make a more significant contribution because it is spread out over the year. A major boost also came from former Chancellor James Moeser, who designated $232,000 in private dollars to the cause. But gifts to the fund have come in all amounts, Egan said – as low as one dollar. “It runs the gamut,” he said. “It all counts.”
Unique in its approach because students may choose from a variety of schools, the program is aimed at promoting a sense of community among the faculty, staff and administration as well as providing need-based support for employees’ children.
“We’re helping promote education all across the state with this effort,” Egan said. “It also enables us to help our colleagues send their children to college at a time when they might not otherwise have had the chance and lets us give back to the University in a tangible, meaningful way.”
For his initiative, Egan was honored with the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence and the 2007 State Employees’ Award for Excellence, the highest honor given to a state employee. Egan says the recognition is great, but the real reward comes from figuring out how to make a difference in someone else’s life and then being directly involved in the process. “I’ve been tickled pink, not only because of the response to it, but some of the students’ stories are absolutely amazing. It’s very rewarding to have seen an idea come to fruition, and so many people helping to make it happen.”