Hood Magazine Winter 2009 - 11

W W W.HOOD.EDU 11 by Nancy Gillece, ‘81, Vice President for Institutional Advancement Could Margaret Scholl Hood imagine Hood College today? In , she established the College’s ﬁ rst endowed fund: The James Miﬄ in Hood Endowment Fund in memory of her husband. Sixteen years later, her transformational bequest established the foundation for this now-renowned institution. For more than  years alumnae and alumni, parents, grandparents, friends, corporations and foundations have joined Margaret Hood to contribute to a legacy of philanthropy at Hood College. The institution has survived—and ﬂourished—because these benefactors believe in the College’s founding mission to “prepare students for successful careers, fulﬁ lling lives and the responsibilities of citizenship.” Woven into the history of Hood College are the names of major donors such as Whitaker, Shriner, Gambrill, Coblentz, Rosenstock, Hodson and Smith. Imagine the pride they would feel to see this beautiful campus bustling with talented undergraduate and graduate students, exceptional faculty and a very bright future. Based on the solid foundation established by Margaret Hood, the College is embarking on a new challenge to assure our future. The majestic columns supporting Alumnae Hall, gifts from the classes of , ,  and , represent Hope, Opportunity, Obligation and Democracy. As the College prepares for future generations of students, our alumnae, alumni and friends are invited to support four new columns for Hood College: • Student Scholarships • Faculty Enrichment • Annual Funds • Recreation Education Athletic Center For decades Hood College has rewarded academic excellence through scholarships and grants to deserving students. Today Hood College boasts more than  endowed scholarships and bestows more than . million in academic awards each year. But the need continues to grow. Imagine if Hood could grant scholarship awards to every deserving student. Imagine if all Hood students graduated without any indebtedness. As part of Hood College’s continued commitment to academic excellence, establishing new, endowed student scholarships is a priority. In the past two years more than  new scholarships have been established. Imagine the impact this has on our students. Photo illustration by Adam Leviton Margaret Hood recognized the value of endowed chairs in . The need for additional endowed chairs to support our faculty continues today. Hood now has eight endowed chairs that are either fully or partially funded. Most recently Christine McHenry, M.D., ’ established the McHenry Dean of the Chapel in memory of her parents, Gloria Schmidt McHenry ’ and Thomas McHenry III, M.D. Imagine if more of our faculty could ﬁ ll such chairs. On any given evening, scholars and artists enrich our lives through their presence on campus. A cadre of endowed lecture and performance funds enhance the academic program by supporting performances, speeches and visits from recognized scholars and artists. Beneﬁting students, faculty and the greater Frederick community, these events enrich and supplement classroom experiences. Imagine what we could do with additional funds. Unrestricted gifts to the annual funds continue to support and enhance the life of the College. Annual gifts are used to fund technology, classroom facilities, salaries, campus beautiﬁcation, residence halls and many other daily needs. While tuition supports the academic program, the revenue does not cover all expenses and thus we rely on alumnae, alumni, parents and friends to help us with other needs. As Hood College enters its th year, we continue to imagine what the future holds. Today Hood ﬁelds  intercollegiate athletic teams:  for women and eight for men. Gambrill Gymnasium, built in , no longer serves the College community adequately. Planning and constructing a Recreation Education Athletic Center is a campus priority. With nearly  million already committed to this project, eﬀorts continue to raise the needed funds for this complex. Imagine Hood College with a contemporary ﬁtness center, an NCAA regulation gymnasium, a performance dance studio and locker rooms for both women and men. We hope to construct this facility to beneﬁt all Hood College students and the Frederick community. Imagine Hood College tomorrow. While continuing its mission of preparing students for lives of responsibility and leadership, the College will reward academic excellence at the highest level through scholarship and teaching. The faculty will be competitively rewarded for their commitment to teaching and mentoring. Campus facilities will continue to be enhanced. Imagine. Th is will be the Hood College of tomorrow.

Hood Magazine Winter 2009

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Hood Magazine Winter 2009