Coe College | Campaign News

Campaign News

April 23, 2008
Rod Pritchard, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
(319) 399-8605 or rpritcha@coe.edu

Johnsons establish $1 million scholarship fund for Coe students

Coe College alumnus William P. "Bill" Johnson and his wife, Lynda, have established a $1 million endowed fund to provide scholarships for Colorado students who choose to attend Coe. Specifically, first preference will be given to students who graduate from high school in the Boulder Valley School District in Boulder, Colo., where the Johnsons reside.

The Lynda B. and William P. Johnson Endowed Scholarship Fund awards will be $12,500 per year or more. One new scholarship will be awarded to a first-year student each year, and the scholarships will extend four school years if the individual recipients remain in good academic standing at Coe.

The latest gift represents the second large scholarship fund created by the Johnsons to support Coe students. In 1998, the couple established a $400,000 scholarship fund to benefit high school students attending Coe from Bill's hometown of Muscatine, Iowa. The Helen E. and Arthur Johnson Scholarship was named in honor of Bill's parents, who were longtime educators. Arthur Johnson was superintendent of schools in Muscatine for 30 years.

Bill Johnson graduated from Coe College in 1953 with a degree in political science. Following service in the Air Force, Johnson earned his law degree at the University of Colorado in 1958. An attorney and banking executive, Johnson is a partner in the law firm of Rothgerber, Johnson & Lyons LLP in Denver. He has been involved in various banking and community organizations over the years, and he has served as a member of the Coe College Board of Trustees since 1988.

Lynda is a graduate of Southern Methodist University and is a community volunteer. She has served on numerous nonprofit boards, and chaired the board of the more than $500 million Denver Foundation. Lynda participates as a member of the Colorado Women's Forum and the International Women's Forum, and has served on the board of the Boulder Community Hospital Foundation. She is currently involved in raising money for women political candidates seeking national office.

"Lynda and I recognize the value of education and the high quality academic programs offered by Coe College," said Bill Johnson. "We are pleased to establish this scholarship fund to provide educational opportunities for students in the Boulder area to enroll at Coe."

In commenting on the latest gift from the Johnsons, Coe President James Phifer noted their ongoing, generous support of the institution.

"Bill and Lynda Johnson have been long-standing supporters of Coe, not only providing significant monetary contributions, but also giving their time and talent. This substantial gift once again demonstrates their commitment to the college," said Phifer. "We are grateful for the support provided by the Johnsons, which will provide Coe scholarship opportunities in perpetuity to students in the Boulder area."

The Defining Moment Campaign
Coe College unveiled the largest campaign in the institution's history in December of 2007. Defining Moment: The Campaign for Coe, seeks to raise $80 million to bolster four major areas of the college, all with the goal of supporting academic quality at the institution. Most important among these, Coe seeks to increase the size of its endowment. Additionally, the college plans to enlarge and improve its science facilities, expand the campus space available for athletics and recreation, and promote the continuing growth of the Coe Fund.

More than $55 million has already been raised toward the $80 million goal. The silent phase of the current Defining Moment campaign began in January 2005, and it will extend through June 2012.

March 18, 2008
Amber Mulnik, Director of Communications, The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation
(319) 366-2862

William B. Quarton leaves GCRCF endowment that will impact Cedar Rapids community in perpetuity

Endowment will increase annual unrestricted granting funds from $600,000 to roughly $1.6 million

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - March 18, 2008 - Residents of Cedar Rapids will benefit in perpetuity from an endowment left by the late William B. Quarton to the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation (GCRCF) and four other beneficiary organizations, including Coe College.

The foundation announced during a press conference at Coe College today that Quarton's recent life gifts and estate gift will create funds at the GCRCF approximating $35 million. This amount includes funds earmarked for five beneficiary groups:

Cedar Rapids Museum of Art - $5 million
Community Health Free Clinic - $3.5 million
Coe College - $3.5 million
Hoover Presidential Library - $1.75 million
GCRCF unrestricted - $21.25 million

As an endowment, Quarton's gift will grow and impact the community for many years to come. The gift is invested, and only a portion of its annual fund total is used for grants in the community. This means that the beneficiaries will receive partial grants in 2008, and, starting in 2009, they will receive annual grants totaling 5 percent of the fund balance.

As a result of this endowment, the GCRCF is in the midst of restructuring its granting programs to ensure that it has a system in place that has the most benefit to the community.

"Bill Quarton was a great philanthropist, who leaves a powerful legacy in our community," said Dan Baldwin, president and CEO of the GCRCF. "I view this endowment as a challenge to us. He has passed the torch to us and now it's our turn to build on the foundation that he has given and help him realize his dream for the Cedar Rapids community."

For Coe, President James Phifer said Quarton's gift will allow the college to continue providing a high quality educational experience to generations of students to come. "Everything we do here is labor intensive," he said. "It will support, in perpetuity, everything we do."

The GCRCF consists of a collection of individual and corporate funds and resources given by local citizens and business owners to enhance and support the quality of life in their community. In 2007, the foundation made grants to 246 nonprofit groups and funded 86 scholarships, totaling nearly $4 million.

"Any donation, no matter how large or small, can have an impact on our community," said Baldwin. "The strength of the community foundation is that each contribution is combined into one big fund. That produces a larger cumulative effort and result for everyone."

Quarton was born in Algona, Iowa in 1903. Throughout his life and legendary career as a radio and television broadcaster, he crossed paths with some of history's most fascinating events and characters.

After four years as a civil servant in Washington D.C. he moved to New York City where he helped sell dictation machines at General Electric with Thomas Edison. He then headed west to Los Angeles where he roomed with cowboy film star Randolph Scott and joined the Los Angeles Stock Exchange a month before the market crash of 1929. In 1931, he moved to Cedar Rapids and found his calling in radio broadcasting, operating a number of radio and TV stations, including WMT and WMT-TV (now KGAN-TV) and mentoring a slew of newscasters, such as a young Walter Cronkite. Quarton retired in 1968, turning his attention to civic and philanthropic activities. He was a Coe trustee for more than 30 years and endowed a chair in the Department of Business Administration and Economics.

Quarton's quick wit and insight is reflected in one of his quotes, "When we retire, we do the things we WANT to do, and the things we MUST do, so the things we OUGHT to do, are left undone!"

For more information, contact Amber Mulnik, director of communications, at 319.366.2862.

December 8, 2007
Rod Pritchard, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
(319) 399-8605 or rpritcha@coe.edu

Coe College announces $80 million Defining Moment Campaign

Coe College unveiled the largest campaign in the institution's history at a gala event held in Sinclair Auditorium Saturday evening and broadcast live to alumni and friends of the college around the country. Defining Moment: The Campaign for Coe, seeks to raise $80 million that will be used to bolster four major areas of the college, all with the goal of supporting academic quality at the institution.

The kickoff event - which featured a retrospective of Coe history and a glimpse into the college's future - was the largest event in college history. More than 600 people attended the celebration at Coe, with hundreds of alumni and friends watching the event via a live satellite broadcast at two dozen gatherings held around the country. During the program, Defining Moment Campaign Chair Gene Henderson, Coe class of 1968, announced that more than $55 million has already been raised toward the $80 million goal.

Coe's previous campaign, One By One, ended in 2001, with $61 million given to support the institution. The silent phase of the current Defining Moment campaign began in January 2005, and it will extend through June 2012.

The Clark gift leads to the Defining Moment
The passing of K. Raymond Clark in 2005 made Coe the beneficiary of an unparalleled gift of $18 million to its earning endowment, providing Coe with a foundation of financial security. However, Mr. Clark's gift is not solely sufficient to springboard the college into a new era of distinction for outright academic achievement.

"Coe's vision for the future is simple, yet powerful - to break out of the pack of good liberal arts schools with which it has traditionally competed and to establish itself as one of a small number of premier national institutions," said Coe President James Phifer. "To take such a step will require the college to embark on a program of continuous enhancement of its academic program, one focused on the creation of world-class educational programs and experiences. This vision can become a reality through a successful Defining Moment campaign."

Defining Moment: The Campaign for Coe has four primary areas of focus. Most important among these, Coe seeks to increase the size of its endowment. Additionally, the college plans to enlarge and improve its science facilities, expand the campus space available for athletics and recreation, and promote the continuing growth of the Coe Fund.

"All of these priorities serve the overarching purpose of the Defining Moment Campaign: to achieve a level of academic excellence at Coe unparalleled in the institution's history, and to set Coe apart from colleges with which it presently competes," concluded Phifer.

More detailed information concerning the four major campaign elements is as follows:

Endowment Enhancement
Goal: $45 million
Coe College has long provided a quality of education comparable to academic institutions with endowments many times the size of Coe's. Now, thanks in large measure to the Clark gift, Coe's financial situation is the most stable it has been in 155 years, and the moment is at hand for the college to realize its vision of achieving a higher level of academic excellence. To do this, Coe must strengthen its endowment.

Simply put, endowment gifts to Coe become investments that are held in perpetuity, with the money earned from the investments used to support the college's many programs. A strong endowment provides recurring income that can benefit all aspects of the college, sustaining and supporting every effort it undertakes. Such income is a permanent source of funding that enriches teaching, learning and research. Endowed funds allow the college to hire and retain an outstanding faculty, provide essential scholarship support for students, and expand research, travel and foreign study opportunities for all members of the academic community.

Gifts to the endowment offer donors the unique and important benefit of being able to touch the lives of students and faculty yet unborn. Further, an endowment gift honors publicly the name of the donor - or that of a family member, friend or beloved professor. A large and growing endowment is the engine that powers an institution, and building such an endowment at Coe is the most important goal of the campaign.

Peterson Hall of Science
Goal: $16 million
Peterson Hall, which houses the departments of biology, chemistry and physics, was built in the 1960s. As a 40-year-old building, Peterson is showing signs of age. Coe now has an opportunity to improve teaching and research, impacting future generations of students and helping the college to maintain its lead in science and technology.

Enrollments have increased significantly at Coe in recent years, and the rate of growth in the sciences has surpassed that of the college as a whole. In addition, the departments housed in Peterson Hall represent areas that have experienced great technological change impacting pedagogy. The need for a modern, state-of-the-art science facility is all the greater because of the sheer quality of Coe's science programs and faculty. Furthermore, the growing national recognition of the science programs has created an urgent need for modernizing teaching and research spaces to continue to move to the next level of academic excellence.

To maintain and build on this hallmark, Coe envisions the expansion, reconfiguration and renovation of Peterson Hall. The project will entail the construction of a 32,000-square-foot addition. Further, it will involve reconfiguring space throughout the existing building, creating classrooms and laboratories that are flexible. With the combination of a faculty of enviable quality and a modern facility, the possibilities for achievement will be endless.

Coe Fund
Goal: $7 million
While the Defining Moment Campaign marches forward to ensure the college's future, Coe is equally committed to maintaining the excellence of its educational programs at present. The importance of the Coe Fund is underscored by the lives it touches. Academic programs for students, faculty and staff development, essential equipment, and new technology are just a few of the ongoing priorities that are supported by the Coe Fund.

The Coe Fund is a resource to help the college meet its most pressing needs each year. Not surprisingly, the Coe Fund is one of the main components of the Defining Moments Campaign.

Campus Expansion Project
Goal: $7 million
Through strategic planning, it became evident to Coe leaders in the fall of 2005 that preparations should be made with the long-term goal of increasing the physical size of the campus. Coe's enrollment has grown to record levels, increasing by more than 20 percent over the last decade, with the largest number of students living on campus in institutional history. The resulting Campus Expansion Project was undertaken to accommodate comfortably the needs of the college at its current student population level and in anticipation of possible future needs.

Since January of 2006, the college has acquired two-thirds of the properties in the identified area between 14th Street NE and 15th Street NE along A Avenue NE, B Avenue NE, and C Avenue NE, adjacent to the campus. The Defining Moment Campaign seeks funding to continue the acquisition of property within these boundaries to fulfill the previously announced plan. As the college acquires this property, it will be converted to green space for athletics and intramurals. Along with beautifying the campus and creating a more attractive setting for current and prospective students, the additional space gives the college flexibility in considering future construction projects, should they prove necessary.

The Campus Expansion Project is vital for the future success of Coe, but it also has the potential to serve as a catalyst for revitalization in the college's lower northeast side neighborhood, including the adjoining business district.

Special Projects
Goal: $5 million
A "Special Projects" category has been established within the Defining Moment campaign to fund other college projects or programs that may result from the campaign.