Tougaloo College - Office of Institutional Advancement

Welcome to the Office of Institutional Advancement! Members of our team and I just returned from a conference that all of us agreed was one of the best we ever attended: UNCF’s Institute for Capacity Building, Institutional Advancement Program, and we are all rejuvenated! For those persons (like yours truly) who have been in this business a long time, the event’s various presenters validated what we already know and are doing, and for newcomers, it was a rich learning experience.

Carter Drew’s special session for the vice presidents focused on moving from the past to the future and was echoed at Tuesday night’s dinner by Dr. John Silvanus Wilson of The George Washington University. His stirring, motivational presentation, “ From Violins to Trumpets” was on point for all HBCUs. Taking the lead from Mr. Drew and Dr. Wilson, I want to share some achievements with you that are impactful on the future of Tougaloo College, to “tap dance” and to “start blowing trumpets.”

For the second consecutive year, The Princeton Review named Tougaloo College to its “One of the Best in the Southeast” list. U.S. News and World Report ranked us #20 on its inaugural list of the “Best Black Colleges in the U.S.” According to the latest information from the National Science Foundation, Tougaloo College still ranks among the top 50 U.S. institutions whose graduates earn Ph.D. degrees in science and engineering disciplines and among the top 15 HBCUs in the graduation of females with undergraduate degrees in the physical sciences. In addition, Tougaloo still holds the record for producing more graduates who completed their Ph.D. degrees through the UNCF-Mellon Doctoral Fellowship Program than any other institution in the nation.

For the fiscal period ending June 30, 2007, the percentage of alumni givers was 36% and alumni contributed $1,108,455. Our cumulative gifts reached $3,811,993 of which $3,321,994 was generated for the Annual Fund. Our faculty and staff gift participation rate reached 58%!

We kicked off this 2007-2008 academic/fiscal year by exceeding our goal of $500,000 for scholarships in cooperation with the Tom Joyner Foundation. We were the School of the Month for July and we raised $512,000!! Only with the generous support of our alumni could we have achieved this goal. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

The Ida Lucille Moman Fraser Conference Room in historic Woodworth Chapel was dedicated during Founders’ Week 2007. Mrs. Fraser, class of 1925, was present for the dedication and said a few words. We are confident that this was the first of many naming ceremonies that will be held over the next couple of years.
Keith C. Miller, M.D. ’88 not only established an endowed scholarship, but is also funding two annual scholarships for students from his hometown of McComb. Dr. Miller challenges his fellow Tougalooians who are in the medical profession to establish endowed and annual scholarships.
Kathy Mosley ’72 will be honored by the United Negro College Fund at the upcoming UNCF’s 62nd Annual National Alumni Council and 50th Annual Pre-Alumni Council Conference in Montgomery, Alabama on February 14-17, 2008.
The latest member of the Tougaloo College Legacy Society is Carrie Coleman Robinson ’31. Mrs. Robinson, who lives in Montgomery, Alabama, has established a future bequest to endow a scholarship here at the College.
Edgar Smith, Ph.D. ’55 and wife, Inez Wiley Smith ’55 along with classmate, Aaron Shirley, M.D. ’55, and LeRoy G. Walker, Jr., board chairman, were honored for their philanthropic generosity at the National Philanthropy Day luncheon hosted by the Mississippi chapter of the Association for Fundraising Professionals at the Jackson Country Club on November 15, 2007.
Wilbert Smith ’57 was inducted into the John Marshall High School Alumni Hall of Fame in Chicago on October 13. Smith, the first black physics teacher at the school, taught math and physics at the high school from 1958 until 1963, his first job after graduating from Tougaloo College.
The Tougaloo Atlanta Alumni Chapter, under the leadership of Ranada Robinson ’02, hosted a fundraising “how to” workshop on December 1 st at the Auburn Avenue Research Library. It was a great event and the first of several to be hosted by the chapter in conjunction with our office. Presenting from OIA were Patricia Johnson, Senior Director of Advancement Services, Kindalin Sanders Moses, Director of Annual Giving, and yours truly.

Over the next months, we will spotlight many more of you, our generous and supportive donors. We are continuing our efforts to generate more resources to attract and retain talented students and quality faculty, and to achieve our other priorities. We remain committed to building and strengthening relationships with alumni, friends, businesses, industry, faculty, staff and students, and we are working each day to bring new friends and supporters to Tougaloo College.

It is vital that Tougaloo College continue to offer excellence in education and a lifetime of opportunities. When you make a contribution to Tougaloo College, you are making a difference in the lives of students as well as in the future of the Eagle Queen. Your financial contributions as well as the gifts of your time, talent and leadership are especially important to us. You may ask, “What can I do?”

Well, you can always write a check or give a gift of stock or cash. Imagine what would happen if all of our alumni and friends gave as little as $25 or $50 every year (not just in a reunion year)?! Yes, indeed, everyone can give something – even if it means giving up a manicure or pedicure for one month or eating in rather than dining out once or twice a month. While we do hope everyone will make a donation each year, it is not the only thing that we need from you. We need you to become involved and engaged in the life of Tougaloo College. We need you to help us blow trumpets, not play violins!

There are lots of other ways that your help is needed: volunteer your time to work with a specific event or activity of the College such as the UNCF masquerade ball or the phonathon, serve as a class agent, put Tougaloo College in your estate plan, cover a school fair or other recruitment event, recruit a student to Tougaloo College, or tell your Tougaloo Story to others in your business, professional, civic and social circles. The point is that just as Tougaloo College has been here to facilitate an education for everyone who walked through the historic gates, you must be here for Tougaloo College – now and in the future.

We are excited about the future of Tougaloo College and hope to see you on campus soon. Thank you for your support of one of America’s truly great institutions. And, please do not hesitate to contact any of the institutional advancement staff or me if we may be of assistance to you.

Edwina Harris Hamby, M.A.
Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Advancement Village
(601) 977-7871 office
(601) 624-5495 cellular
(601) 977-4492 fax
ehamby@tougaloo.edu or eehamby@aol.com

Detrice W. Johnson
Senior Administrative Assistant to the Vice President/ Media Relations Associate
Advancement Village
(601) 977-7871
djohnson@tougaloo.edu

Amelia E. Hunter, J.D.
Assistant Vice President/Senior Director of Planned Giving
Advancement Village
(601) 977-7841 office
ahunter@tougaloo.edu

Patricia W. Johnson
Senior Director of Advancement Services
Advancement Village
(601) 977-7907
pjohnson@tougaloo.edu

Doris Griffith Bridgeman '69
Director of Alumni Affairs
Alumni House, First Floor
(601) 977-7836
dbridgeman@tougaloo.edu

Dexter J. Robinson, M.S.M. '91
Assistant Director for Alumni Relations
Alumni House, First Floor
(601) 977-4455
djrobinson@tougaloo.edu

Angela L. Moore, M.B.A.
Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
Advancement Village
(601) 977-7899
amoore@tougaloo.edu

Kindalin Sanders Moses, M.S.
Director of Annual Giving
Advancement Village
(601) 956-4452
kmoses@tougaloo.edu

Sanette Langston-Smith, M.S.M. '98
Director of Advancement Services
Advancement Village
(601) 977-4458
slsmith@tougaloo.edu