January 2010
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Message from the President |
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 Our Major Gifts Capital Campaign continues to go well. We are sitting at just over $4,000,000 in donations and pledges. A positive development for our Lebanon Center occurred in the last part of December. While the announcement will be made in the coming weeks, I wanted to share with you that the College has received a multi-million dollar gift of property and buildings in Lebanon. This gift will have the potential to provide additional general education, technical and workforce training space that will mean a great deal more access for our citizens. The details of the gift should be worked out very soon and a major announcement will be made at that time.
After the finalization of the Lebanon property, we will be nearing our campaign goal. This coupled with some other donations that appear probable should put us at or above $10,000,000. This will not end the campaign, but will allow us to focus energy on areas of the campaign that need additional funding, particularly student support programs.
As we continue to deal with more students entering college without the skills to perform at the freshman level, we see more and more students who need to be served in the Speckman Tutoring and Learning Center, the Writing Center, the Speech Center, Disability Services and other student support services. These areas need to grow, even as our state funding decreases. It appears that the best way to increase support for these areas is through private giving and Federal Grants.
Again, Thank You to our students, faculty, Board Members and donors who are making this happen at OTC. You can see a complete update on each of our campaign initiatives in the graph below.
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Major Gifts Capital Campaign Initiatives and Progress
$4,052,277 Raised so Far |
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Latest Videos & Links
(click to view) |
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 College Update Video
 OTC Video Center
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OTC Foundation Events |
Salute to Legislators
January 27
Capital Plaza Hotel
Jefferson City
February 2 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
2010 Foundation Board of Directors Meetings
February 12
May 14 September 10
December 10
11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
OTC Board of Trustees Room
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OTC Quick Facts |
Did you know ...
12,288 students are enrolled this Spring,
14.9% more than
Spring 2009.
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Capital Campaign Leadership |
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Honorary Co-Chairs
John Q. Hammons
Don Wessel
General Co-Chairs
Dr. Marshall Gordon
Bill Killian
Judy Breeding
Employee Division Chairs
Susan Blakey
Becky Crocker
Rob Griffith
Lance Renner
Board Division Chair
Dr. Marshall Gordon
Vice-Chairs
Judy Breeding
Jerry Jared
Jim Moore
Jan Robbins
OTC Foundation Team
Cliff Davis
Pam Vokolek
Stephanie Brown
Beth Elliott
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Legislative Updates
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The Missouri General Assembly began its 2010 session last week. On Tuesday, Dr. Higdon and Cliff Davis presented a funding document to the Speaker of the House Ron Richard, Education Committee Chairman Kingrey, and the Southwest Missouri Legislative delegation in the House.
The document paints a very negative picture of OTC's funding in relation to the other community colleges in Missouri. You will also notice that the highest funded community college now receives less than $3,000 per FTE. This amount is significantly lower than normal as compared to the United States average.
You can also see that Missouri's community colleges receive about 15% of state higher education funds, but educates over 40% of the higher education students in Missouri. If you subtract out of state students from the totals, we educate a majority. Obviously, there is a huge disparity between funding for community colleges and funding for the state's university.
The delegation was surprised by the disparity between the community colleges at the top of the list and the community college at the bottom of the list. We are working with his committee to make recommendations on closing this gap as the state budget recovers after the recession.
This does not represent a victory in the fight for equity, but it is a great start. This will be a multi-year project.
The Governor's proposal to cut higher education by 5.2% and require that we not raise tuition will entail a great deal of debate in the House and Senate. It remains to be seen if it will pass, but odds are it will pass.
See more on Legislative News, Bills and Federal Legislation at the Missouri Community College Association website.
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Neal & Julie Spencer donate to
Student Support Program Initiative
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 The OTC Foundation has received a generous gift from Neal and Julie Spencer. Mr. Spencer is the Chief Executive Officer for BKD, LLP, and is a current OTC Foundation Board Member. The donation will be directed toward both the Middle College and Read Right© programs at OTC. These programs are part of the Student Support Program initiative in our current campaign. For more on the OTC Foundation or the Major Gifts Capital Campaign, contact The Foundation office at (417) 447-2651.
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Endowed Scholarship's Established
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| The OTC Foundation has received several gifts to establish five new Endowed Scholarships. Each of these scholarships are listed below:
Rick & Karen Hughlett Scholarship (Automotive)
Judy Breeding Scholarship (Accounting)
Charlie & Mary Beth O'Reilly Scholarship (Financial Need Based)
Trustee Scholarship (Endowed by Larry & Donna Snyder,
Need Based)
Sam F. & June S. Hamra Scholarship (Culinary & Hospitality)
For more on the OTC Foundation or the Major Gifts Capital Campaign, contact The Foundation office at (417) 447-2651.
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OTC Foundation Welcome
Two new Board Members |
The OTC Foundation would like to announce the addition of two new Board Members. 
Mr. Jeffrey Gower, President of Wil Fischer Companies.
Ms. Hattie Brown, Senior Vice President of Ozarks Coca Cola / Dr Pepper Bottling Company. | |
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