Moore, Vince

Stewart, Jim

English

Furman University

Furman MagazineVolume 53Issue 3 Fall 2010 Article 169-1-2010$3.4 million gift to support Bridges' expandedeffortsVince MooreFurman UniversityJim StewartFurman UniversityFollow this and additional works at: https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/furman-magazineThis Article is made available online by Journals, part of the Furman University Scholar Exchange (FUSE). It has been accepted for inclusion in FurmanMagazine by an authorized FUSE administrator. For terms of use, please refer to the FUSE Institutional Repository Guidelines. For more information,please contact scholarexchange@furman.edu.Recommended CitationMoore, Vince and Stewart, Jim (2010) "$3.4 million gift to support Bridges' expanded efforts," Furman Magazine: Vol. 53 : Iss. 3 ,Article 16.Available at: https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/furman-magazine/vol53/iss3/16Furman REPORTSWHEN CASEY CRISP was a student at Travelers Rest High School earlier this decade, Furman’s Bridges to a Brighter Future program opened new worlds for her. “My experience with Bridges undoubtedly changed my life,” she says. “I was a #rst-generation college student, and the support and encouragement I received from the program were essential parts of making college a realityfor me.”Crisp, a 2009 Furman graduate, is now in her second year of teaching social studies at Mauldin (S.C.) High School. She says, “While Bridges certainly prepared me for the college admissions process, I found that it better prepared me for life. Bridges helped me become an open-minded, resilient and con#dent leader who could look beyond my circumstances and imagine a better future for myself.”  Which is exactly what it is meant to do: provide encouragement, support and academic enrichment opportunities to students in Greenville County high schools whose personal circumstances might otherwise pre-vent them from ful#lling their potential.Bridges was launched in 1997 by a founding gift from Greenvillian Mamie Jolley Bruce, who received an honorary degree from Furman earlier this year. Now, thanks to a $3.4 million commitment from an anonymous donor, the program will expand its support beyond high school and provide its graduates with an array of services after they enroll in college. The commitment includes $400,000 to be paid over the next three years, and $3 million in the form of a bequest.Tobi Swartz, director of Bridges, says, “While 100 percent of the program’s students graduate from high school and more than 93 percent enroll in college, our college retention and graduation rates are not as strong. To fully realize our mission, we must continue to support these students into their college years.”The $3.4 million gift will allow Bridges to introduce an intensive, one-week summer program called “Crossing the Bridge,” which Bridges graduates will attend before they enroll in college. “Crossing” will also provide advising and support for the students throughout their #rst year in college.Mike Gatchell, Furman’s vice president for development, says, “The donor’s late husband received the sort of special attention in high school that changed the direction of his life and led to a highly successful career. Because Bridges is dedicated to recognizing students’ talents and encouraging them to pursue their dreams, she felt it was a worthwhile program to support.”$3.4 million gift to support Bridges’ expanded effortsBridges students are from homes where the average income is less than $35,000. Many are also struggling to overcome personal and family issues. They are nominated for the program as ninth-graders by teachers and counselors, and once selected they remain in the program throughout their high school years. They participate in an annual four-week summer residential experience on the Furman campus and receive year-round tutoring and assistance through a “Saturday College” program.In addition to Furman, members of the 2010 Bridges graduating class were accepted to such institutions as Harvard, Wake Forest, New York University, Oxford College at Emory University, and Ohio State. Seventy-#ve students are participating in Bridges this academic year.Casey Crisp is just one of many Bridges success stories. After gradu-ating from high school and enrolling at Furman, she chose to give back by spending her summers as a counselor to Bridges students. It was then, she says, that she realized the program’s true value.“I watched students change from shy, insecure teenagers to con#dent, well-spoken and driven young people,” she says. “I’ve seen the joy on their faces after helping to deliver their college admissions letters. I’ve watched them cry and hug each other at the end of the summer because they didn’t want to leave the only place that allowed them to completely be themselves. Bridges is a haven for its students, a place where they begin to discoverwho they are and who they want to become.”When Crisp graduated from Furman, she stood even taller because her fellow graduates had designated their senior class gift of $43,650 to support a scholarship for a Bridges student. “It was incredibly rewarding to be able to share the program and my experience with classmates as they began to see what an impact Bridges has on the young people in our community,” she says. “The scholarship will allow a very deserving student the chance to learn, grow and take charge of their future.”Just as she did.Photo: The 2010 Bridges graduating class, with director Tobi Swartz (front left). Story compiled from reports by Vince Moore and Jim Stewart.JEREMY FLEMINGFURMAN LAUNCHED the “Year of Global Citizenship” at its Opening Convocation September 2.What does global citizenship mean? The Furman community will #nd out through programs, seminars and lectures designed to determine how our actions as individuals and groups impact the world around us. (To learn more, visit www.furman.edu/globalcitizen.) Katie Shultz ’11 (middle in photo), a political science major pursuing concentrations in poverty studies and environmental studies, is spearheading the student-led effort to analyze what it is to be a global citizen in today’s world. As the keynote speaker at convocation, she outlined the plans for the program, whose goal is to promote “critical evaluation and responsible citizenship.”Shultz, from Hoover, Ala., is also one of this year’s Furman Fellows, all of whom were recognized at convocation. The Fellows program, established by trustee Bob Buckman and his wife, Joyce Mollerup, recognizes #ve seniors each year for their contributions to the university and their potential for future success. Fellows are selected Furman Fellows named; Year of Global Citizenship beginsbecause of their ability to think creatively and imaginatively and for their potential to make a difference in the world and in the lives of others. They receive $7,500.  In addition to Shultz, the Furman Fellows for the Class of 2011 are, from left:!  Chemistry major Angela Zeigler of Seneca, S.C. A Hollingsworth Scholar who aspires to be a pediatrician, she spent the summer doing research at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. She has also cap-tained the women’s rugby team and been a volunteer with several Greenville agencies.!  Reece Lyerly, an earth and environmen-tal sciences major from Roswell, Ga. He is the recipient of a Udall Fellowship, one of the nation’s most prestigious awards for students planning careers in environmental work, and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and of Quaternion, the university’s select men’s leadership organization.!  Michael Chiu of Johns Creek, Ga. He is majoring in history and communi-cation studies, and plans to pursue a career in communications and counseling. He is on the board of directors of Greenville Forward and was instrumental in the creation of Furman Forward, a project that links Furman students with community endeavors.!  Shannon Cantwell, an economics and political science major from Fairhope, Ala. She is senior class president, a Furman Bisher Scholar and a member of the track team. She has participated in several international mission trips and over the summer led four fellow Furman athletes on a service trip to Swaziland, Africa.More from Opening Convocation on page 37. Photo by Jeremy Fleming.“It is the desire of Furman University to unite its members in a collective commitment to integrity. In so doing, Furman University strives to teach its members to live lives of humility, respect, and responsibility. Therefore, it is the expectation that all members of the Furman University community will conduct themselves with integrity in all endeavors. In honoring these values and ideals as Furman University’s foundation, it is with utmost faithfulness and dignity that I will ascribe to them.”By reciting these words in unison at Opening Convocation September 2, Furman students, faculty and staff gave voice to an “integrity pledge” to demonstrate, in a tangible way, that they hold themselves and each other to a high level of behavior. The pledge had been in the works for several years. The student-driven initiative was approved overwhelmingly during the 2009–10 academic year.The purpose of the pledge is to formalize the character and principles that are already implicit at Furman. As a guide, it is meant to be an over-arching representation of the more extensive and intricate rules and regulations that govern Furman academics. It is not to be mistaken for an honor code, although it is a possible step in that direction. (Furman students voted against creating an honor code in the 1990s.)The pledge has been posted in classrooms, residence halls and public areas around campus. University adopts student-driven integrity pledge26   FURMAN | FALL 2010 FURMAN | FALL 2010    27FM10 Fall issue.indd   26-27 11/2/10   4:41 PM

$3.4 million gift to support Bridges\u27 expanded efforts

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$3.4 million gift to support Bridges\u27 expanded efforts

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