News Announcement
For further information please contact
Cheryl L. Kight - Vice President, Marketing

Columbus, April 2009

HUNTINGTON BANCSHARES INCORPORATED RECOGNIZED
AS IT REACHES $1 MILLION GIVING TOTAL TO
THE OHIO FOUNDATION OF INDEPENDENT COLLEGES

At its April 21, 2009 Evening of Excellence, held at The Westin Hotel in Columbus, The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) honored Huntington Bancshares Incorporated for reaching a milestone in giving.  Huntington Bancshares has supported OFIC’s mission to provide access to independent higher education for Ohio’s students for 54 years and with this year’s gift attained OFIC Leadership Club level by reaching a cumulative giving total of more than $1 million.

Jeffrey S. Wolf, president of OFIC, and Michael E. Kehoe, past OFIC board chair presented a commemorative plaque to Zahid Afzal, Executive Vice President of Huntington Bank, in recognition of Huntington’s dedicated and long-standing support of students attending Ohio’s independent colleges.   “During its 59-year history”, Wolf stated, “OFIC has been supported by many long-standing and generous donors.   We want to recognize Huntington Bancshares tonight for the giving milestone it has reached as well as its 54 years of dedicated and outstanding leadership it has provided to our foundation and the students enrolled at our 34 member colleges and universities across Ohio.”

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.