Finding New Ways To Connect, Create and Collaborate
We will all remember the past two years as being unlike any we have faced — as families, as a community, and as a university. The pandemic forced all of us to learn new ways to connect, create, and collaborate — and perhaps most importantly — to care for the changing needs of those around us and our students in whose future we are all vested so deeply.
Whether it has been establishing protocols and programs to ensure a safe campus; launching virtual platforms for staff meetings, alumni panels, and family campus visits; or offering alternative learning platforms, such as virtual, hybrid, and in-person classes for our students, the entire Ƶ community has been quick to pivot and to do so successfully in ways that demonstrated time and time again our flexibility and our innovative spirit.
While we did so, we were committed to fiscal responsibility and to providing stability for our employees and community. As part of these efforts, we have been able to provide support programs and critically needed financial relief to our students and employees. Some of these initiatives you will learn about in this publication.
In this year’s Philanthropy Report, you’ll read a note from Vice President for University Advancement and External Relations Sue Davies, who after nearly 10 years of working with our generous alumni has decided to retire to enjoy more time with family. The University can’t thank her enough, and I wish to thank her personally for her dedication and service to our community. You’ll also read about how our alumni and corporate partners are stepping up to support students and ease their financial worries. There are stories about new, creative, and holistic scholarships that are increasing the number of underrepresented students on campus, including women, African American, and Hispanic students. You’ll even read about a new scholarship for students on the spectrum and the alumni who started it.
Included as well is an update on our Boldly Forward campaign and its centerpiece, the Learning Commons. This state-of-the-art innovation hub for creativity, connection, and collaboration is coming alive and now dominates the heart of our campus thanks to your support.
In reading these many stories of success and of overcoming challenges, we hope you will be inspired by our alumni and friends who have chosen to contribute to the Boldly Forward campaign and the Learning Commons. As you read, you will even get a renewed sense of the importance of this new facility through a student’s reaction to it.
Thank you for your generosity and your belief in the importance of a vibrant and enduring Ƶ. Your support makes it possible for us to meet the daily challenges we face as well as to plan for the future with optimism and hope — a future that we are confident is bright because of you.
And as we move Boldly Forward into 2022, we invite you to continue to join us in building that bright future. Thank you.
Warmest regards,
Dr. Robert K. McMahan
President & Professor of Physic
A Farewell From Sue Davies
Dear Friends,
It has been an honor to be part of the Ƶ family for nearly 10 years, and I will deeply miss being part of this amazing institution. But as I am nearing my 70th birthday, it is time for me to be a devoted Gramma to Emma (10) and Ben (7); being there for soccer games, school plays and baking lots of cookies. As well as a few rounds of golf with my husband, Tim, and traveling to some of those spots that have been on my bucket list.
Kettering alumni are tenacious problem-solvers. You are creative, entrepreneurial, and I have seen your commitment to helping each other succeed. So many of you have shared how classmates helped you find that next job and the bonds of friendship developed in the classroom that continue over the decades. That doesn’t happen at every university. Take pride in your Bulldog roots.
Since my arrival in 2012, I have watched as you have transformed campus and invested in the lives of our students. Making it possible for the next generation to be Kettering Built. I look out of my office window and see a very different landscape … the MRC, a vibrant neighborhood, the Learning Commons under construction. There is a bright future for Kettering, and I am proud to have played a small part in the transformation. It has been a privilege to assist you in making significant and lasting gifts. I know the work will continue, because you believe in the unique educational model and there is a great team of professionals in University Advancement to help you.
I have cherished your friendships and look forward to continuing being part of the Kettering family as a donor in the years ahead.
Warmly,
Sue
