Make a Gift
The College of Education is one of 13 schools and colleges at Wayne State University--the only Michigan higher education institution that has a teaching, research and urban service mission. To continue our work in these three vital areas, private philanthropy is critical, especially in these economically challenging times.
All of our school children, whether Pre-K, elementary, middle school, or high school, deserve highly-qualified teachers, school psychologists, counselors and administrators. But the cost of preparing personnel for these roles is ever-increasing. There are many areas of need in the college for which gifts can make a significant difference, particularly in a time of decreasing state support for higher education. We face many challenges in maintaining the quality of our programs, and more than ever we rely upon private gifts to do so.
Further, private scholarships are becoming increasingly important to our students as federal and state sources of financial aid disappear. Many of the students in the college are non-traditional in the sense that they are older than the typical 18-year old freshman, are often employed, and have families to support. For our freshmen and other undergraduates, families are finding it increasingly difficult to support their college-age children as jobs are lost or employment hours are cut.
Tuition dollars have become more and more difficult to find, and without the private support of generous donors who have established endowed or annual scholarships, many of our students would have to drop out or stop out of their academic programs. This is especially true when our Teacher Education students are undertaking their pre-student teaching and their student teaching. These required courses are critical to our students’ gaining practical, in-class experience that is so important to becoming effective educators. But being in the schools all day make it very difficult, and in some cases impossible, for our students to be employed. Thus their financial needs grow more acute as they progress in their program.
We are constantly striving to meet the challenges of rising operational costs and tuition rates for our students. I hope that we can count on you to become a partner with us in the rewarding endeavor of the professional preparation of educators.
We have many ways that you can help, through annual giving, a planned gift, or more. We will be happy to work with you to develop a gift plan that is right for your goals as a philanthropist and your financial circumstances. Please contact Joanne Osmer, the College of Education’s Development Officer, at 313-577-1664 or josmer@wayne.edu if you are interested in exploring the variety of ways that you can provide financial support for our efforts.
Thank you for considering a gift to the College of Education!
Carolyn Shields, Dean
P.S. If you establish an endowed or annual named scholarship, you will be invited to our scholarship awards ceremony that takes place each spring. It is one of the most rewarding events of the academic year: being present with students and their families when they receive scholarship award certificates, and learning from them just how important private scholarships are to their academic and professional careers.
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