TC Fund Hits New All Time High Record-breaking $1.1 Million

By Inside TC Volume IV, No. 2

Thanks to the overwhelming support of alumni and friends, the TC Fund has hit a new all-time high: $1.1 million.

Pat Nicholson, 1997-98 chair of the Dewey Circle Network, said: "I remember when I first heard it. I looked at my watch and noted the time and date, it was one of those memorable moments. And then I said to myself, ‘I'm not surprised.' Over the last year, I have worked closely with the Development Office team and I knew this milestone was only a matter of when, not if."

Nicholson, who received a M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies in Education in 1993, is expanding her role. She is the 1998-99 Annual Fund Chair.

Ann Finholt, the Director of the Annual Fund, said that the total for 1997-98 is more than an 18 percent increase over last year's record-breaking $930,000. The TC Fund is and will always be tremendously important to the College and it is exciting to see the growth in support, she said.

"The TC Fund is a vital component of the upcoming Capital Campaign and the Fund's continued growth is a top campaign priority," said Joseph Brosnan, Vice President for Development and External Affairs.

Contributions to the TC Fund are unrestricted gifts. "Unrestricted" does not mean "unaccountable." Finholt said: "It means that the College uses TC Fund donations where the needs are the greatest. Some of the College's highest priorities include student scholarships, new technology, faculty research and development, department initiatives, and on-going programs."

Membership in the John Dewey Circle, the TC Fund club for leadership gifts of $1,000 or more, grew by 59 individuals, a 19 percent increase. Total giving by Dewey Circle members grew by a dramatic 30 percent. That increase includes a $50,000 gift from Tess Magsaysay and Ken Boxley. Magsaysay has a M.A. and a M.Ed. in Applied Linguistics from TC and is currently working on her Ed.D at the College.

Total contributions by the Century Club, whose members have given $100 to $999, also grew by 7 percent. Their gifts make up about 40 percent of the TC Fund and the College recognized their significant contributions at the inaugural Century Club reception in early October.

The new record is a bittersweet moment for Finholt, who is leaving TC to move to Connecticut where her husband is a faculty member at the Hartford Art School. She will be employed by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum. While she is proud that she more than fulfilled her goals for the Annual Fund, Finholt regrets leaving her friends at TC.

"The success of any annual fund is dependent on the efforts of so many people. I have been lucky to have worked with the best-remarkable volunteers, dedicated faculty and administration, and inspiring alumni. I will miss all of them," she said.

TC President Arthur Levine also expressed his gratitude to TC Fund contributors and volunteers. "The success of the TC Fund is absolutely critical to the success of Teachers College," he said. "Contributions to the Fund give the College the flexibility to address its greatest needs."

For more information on the TC Fund, contact Matthew Rymkiewicz in the Office of Development and External Affairs at tcfund@columbia.edu or (212) 678-4067.