News Announcement
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Cheryl L. Kight - Vice President, Marketing

Columbus, April 2009

WITTENBERG UNIVERSITY JUNIOR, RECIPIENT OF FIRSTMERIT FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP, SPEAKS AT OHIO FOUNDATION OF INDEPENDENT COLLEGES EVENING OF EXCELLENCE

Sara Wheeler from Bucyrus, Ohio, a junior at Wittenberg University, was the student speaker at The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) Evening of Excellence, held on April 21, 2009 at The Westin in Columbus.  Wheeler is majoring in management with a business law concentration and plans to attend law school after graduation.   She is the recipient of a scholarship from the FirstMerit Foundation through OFIC’s Ohio Scholars Program and spoke to the event’s attendees about the impact of scholarship assistance on her life and her appreciation of her college experience at Wittenberg.   “My family and I are very grateful for the assistance that this scholarship has provided”, she said.  “With the rising costs of tuition, the scholarship that FirstMerit Foundation and OFIC have provided has made a significant difference in the cost of my education.  I am so appreciative of this investment in my future”. 

In 1987, OFIC established the Hall of Excellence Award to recognize outstanding alumni of OFIC member colleges and universities for their achievements in their fields, support of independent higher education, and service to society, which all exemplify the values of a liberal arts education.   Alumni are nominated by their alma maters on an annual basis, and selection of inductees is made by a committee consisting of OFIC corporate trustees and member college presidents.   The four alumni chosen for induction in 2009 join the ranks of such notables as Hugh Downs, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, and Senator John Glenn.   The evening also honors OFIC donors, volunteers, and students.

Donors to OFIC’s annual campaign may designate their gifts to scholarships or make unrestricted gifts, which are distributed to member colleges and universities for financial aid, educational programs and other areas such as library, classroom and technology needs.  One hundred forty-eight donors to OFIC’s Ohio Scholars Program during the 2007-2008 annual campaign enabled OFIC to award 1,024 scholarships with a total value of $1,699,000 for the 2008-2009 academic year.   

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 nearly 97,000 students and award one-third of all bachelor’s degrees in the state. For 59 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 College, 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.