News Announcement
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Columbus, October 2009

FIFTH THIRD BANK, NE OHIO HOSTS AREA KICK-OFF OF THE OHIO FOUNDATION OF INDEPENDENT COLLEGES’ 2009-10 ANNUAL CAMPAIGN

Todd Clossin, Ohio Regional President & CEO, Fifth Third Bank, NE Ohio, and Chair of The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) 2009-10 Cleveland area annual campaign for the second year, hosted the campaign meeting and kick-off on September 24 at the Fifth Third Bank offices.   Clossin welcomed the area campaign volunteers in attendance, introduced his Vice Chair, Mike Cogan, President & CEO, Northern Trust Bank, and announced that they would be working toward a Cleveland area campaign goal of $730,000 this year.

Mary Breckenridge, Vice President for Academic Affairs of Notre Dame College, described to the volunteers the positive impact that campaign funds have not only on students but also on OFIC member institutions.  Cleveland resident and Notre Dame sophomore Maria Lopez spoke of the impact that her scholarship is having on her educational journey and her future.  Lopez, who is majoring in Biology with a minor in Psychology, is the recipient of a scholarship from American Electric Power Foundation through OFIC’s Ohio Scholars Program.

All of the 98,000 students enrolled at OFIC member colleges, which include Baldwin-Wallace College, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Lake Erie College, Notre Dame College, and Ursuline College, will benefit from funds raised through OFIC’s campaign. One hundred thirty-two students at these six local institutions have directly received scholarships through OFIC’s Ohio Scholars Program for the 2009-10 academic year.  There are presently 14,727 students who live in the Cleveland campaign area enrolled in one of OFIC’s 34 member institutions across the state.

Jeffrey S. Wolf, OFIC president, addressed the volunteers in attendance and thanked them for their time and efforts.  He stressed that campaign funds raised help provide Ohio’s students with access to private higher education, thereby building a skilled and adaptable workforce to carry the region and the state into the future and make them competitive in today's global economy.

OFIC corporate volunteers, known as ambassadors, call on current and prospective donors to educate them about and encourage their support of OFIC’s mission to support independent higher education in Ohio. Approximately 35 representatives of area corporations have volunteered their time to this year’s campaign.

OFIC is the primary corporate and foundation solicitation organization for 34 independent Ohio colleges and universities and operates one of the largest, most comprehensive and diverse scholarship management services in the state.  OFIC member colleges collectively enroll 98,000 students and award one-third of all bachelor’s degrees in the state. For 60 years OFIC has worked to highlight the leadership, value and excellence of independent higher education and has provided unrestricted operating funds and scholarship commitments through funds raised in annual solicitations of businesses and foundations, thereby assuring continuation of excellence in private higher education. OFIC is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of Ohio’s corporate leaders, as well as presidents of the 34 member colleges.

The member colleges are:  Ashland University, Baldwin-Wallace College, Bluffton University, Capital University, Cedarville University, University of Dayton, Defiance College, Denison University, The University of Findlay, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Franklin University, Heidelberg University, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kenyon College, Lake Erie College, Lourdes College, Malone University, Marietta College, Mount Union College, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Muskingum University, Notre Dame College, Oberlin College, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio Northern University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Otterbein College, Urbana University, Ursuline College, Walsh University, Wilmington College, Wittenberg University and The College of Wooster.