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Leap at the Chance: Employees support what they value most through campus campaign The campus campaign provides several opportunities for faculty, staff and emeriti faculty to make gifts to the UW-Eau Claire Foundation in support of specific programs they most value. Contributors can direct a gift to a department's advancement fund. Advancement funds help departments update equipment, improve facilities, bring in seminar speakers and meet other discretionary needs. For example, the chemistry department used department advancement funds in 2006-07 to help revitalize a 35-year-old Cary 14 spectrophotometer. "Funding from the advancement fund and other sources helped us modernize this aging instrument," said Scott Hartsel, chair of the department. "With the financial support, we were able to make this into a modern UV-Vis Near IR spectrophotometer, an instrument that could not be found today for under $100,000." Advancement funds also made possible updates to the chemistry student computer facility. Much needed graphics, simulation and molecular modeling capabilities were added. And, thanks to the department advancement fund, the department hosted a visiting seminar speaker from academics or industry nearly every week during the fall and spring semesters. "These and many other improvements and opportunities for faculty and students would not be possible without Foundation funding," Hartsel said. "Directing a gift to an advancement fund through the campus campaign is a great way to help a department." Gifts also can be directed to recognize the contributions of a faculty member. Many scholarships exist that honor professors for their dedication to the university. A scholarship was recently established to honor Eberth Alarcón, an associate professor of mathematics who died of acute leukemia in September 2006. The $500 annual scholarship will be awarded for the first time in the 2008-09 academic year to an outstanding incoming Latino/Latina freshman interested in a major in mathematics. Alarcón, who came from a low-income Latino family in Chicago, was a mentor and advocate for many multicultural students. "His love of life and his passion for social justice made him a well loved member of the university community," said Asha Sen, Alarcón's wife and an associate professor of English. "The Eberth Alarcón Memorial Scholarship is a way of perpetuating his legacy by giving talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds an opportunity to explore their passion for mathematics, and for life on this campus where professor Alarcón was and continues to be such a beloved figure." "The option to direct your campus campaign gift to a fund that you value allows you to contribute to something that has meaning to you," said Diane Doudna, director of annual giving and major gifts officer. "It's a wonderful opportunity for our campus community."
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