June 10, 2009

Morningside College receives national fundraising award for second year in a row

For the second year in a row, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) has presented Morningside College with the CASE Award for Educational Fundraising.

Morningside is among approximately 70 colleges and universities from across the nation that CASE recognized for exceptional educational fundraising programs. Well-known schools that also received the 2009 fundraising award include Yale University in Connecticut; Johns Hopkins University in Maryland; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and Claremont McKenna College in California. Only one other school in Iowa, the University of Northern Iowa, received the 2009 CASE Award for Educational Fundraising.

“It’s an honor for Morningside College to be recognized along with some of the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities,” said Morningside President John Reynders. “The CASE award was made possible by the dedication and hard work of Tom Rice, vice president of institutional advancement, and our institutional advancement staff. Morningside also is fortunate to have tremendous support from our board of directors, alumni, friends, faculty and staff.”

Reynders noted that announcement of the 2009 CASE award comes just after Morningside concluded the most successful fundraising effort in its 115-year history. Launched in 2002, the “This is Our Moment” campaign raised more than $45.2 million for facility improvements, scholarships and the college’s endowment. The campaign ended May 31, 2009.

Capital projects funded through the “This is Our Moment” campaign included the Hilker Campus Mall, the Waitt and Poppen Apartments, Lags Hall, Elwood Olsen Stadium renovation, Irving F. and Elizabeth Jensen Softball Complex, Rosen Verdoorn Sports Center-Allee Gym renovation, Yockey Family Community Room, Dick and Marty Wikert Dining Hall renovation, physical plant building, Buhler Outdoor Performance Center, Lieder Family Fountain, Kline Family Pergola and Roadman Hall renovation.

Each year CASE recognizes exceptional development programs based on data submitted to the Council for Aid to Education's (CAE's) "Voluntary Support of Education" survey. The survey is conducted annually by CAE, an independent subsidiary of the Rand Corporation, and cosponsored by CASE and the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).

CASE, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is the largest international association of educational institutions, serving more than 3,300 universities, colleges, schools and related organizations in 54 countries.