WCU Stories      September 3, 2024

By Bill Studenc

It’s no secret that Western Carolina University faculty and staff support the mission of the institution every single day, whether through their efforts in classrooms, research laboratories, student support offices, residence halls, locker rooms, dining facilities or maintenance shops.

Now, faculty members who serve on the steering committee for WCU’s current “Fill the Western Sky” comprehensive fundraising campaign are encouraging their colleagues to consider providing support in another way – by making a financial donation.

The “Fill the Western Sky” campaign, which will have its public launch this fall, is an effort to raise a minimum of $75 million in philanthropic support for WCU’s academic, student engagement and athletics programs.

The public phase comes after a record-breaking year for philanthropy for the university. The WCU Foundation received more than $35.8 million in gifts and pledges from nearly 4,000 supporters during the 2024 fiscal year, part of the leadership phase of the campaign.

Faculty members who serve on the campaign steering committee call it an eye-opening experience.

“Since I am new to fundraising, I’m honestly overwhelmed by the success of the campaign so far,” said Mae Miller Claxton, professor of English. “I’m also amazed by the different groups who come together, both on campus and off, to accomplish these goals. It has been so much fun to meet engaged alumni and community members as well as work with the administration and staff across campus, from the chancellor to the director of the Catamount Club.”

Sean Mulholland, professor of economics and director of WCU’s Center for the Study of Free Enterprise, agreed.

“I have been impressed by the thoughtful planning by the Division of Advancement staff and the alumni leading the campaign,” Mulholland said. “The staff have sought ways to connect potential supporters with program directors who share their passions. I have been blown away by the intense desire to enhance the educational experience for current and future WCU students.”

Longtime faculty member Rob Young, professor of geology and director of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, has witnessed WCU’s two previous comprehensive fundraising initiatives – the “Creating Extraordinary Opportunities” campaign under former Chancellor John W. Bardo, with an emphasis on endowed professorships, and the “Lead the Way” campaign under former chancellor David O. Belcher, with a focus on endowed scholarships.

“The progress of this campaign has been incredible. I have been at WCU for 27 years. I can't remember a time with so much optimism and enthusiasm for fundraising and for the trajectory of the university,” Young said.

“Fill the Western Sky” is WCU’s first campaign with a significant focus on raising money for improvements to the university’s aging athletics infrastructure. That is part of an overarching effort to enhance the total student experience. In addition to athletics facilities enhancements, the campaign is seeking contributions for student and faculty research, state-of-the-art classroom and laboratory facilities, outdoor learning space, study-abroad and study-away opportunities, and departmental and college initiatives.

“Students benefit from many programs that are not funded by state or tuition dollars,” Mulholland said. “Many of these programs, such as student services and athletics, are supported primarily by student fees and private grants and gifts. It is because of this private support that WCU can sponsor mentored student research, reduce the financial burden of student travel to conference and job networking events, and provide student-athletes with top-notch facilities.”

Jim Costa, professor of biology and executive director of WCU’s Highlands Biological Station, said that the campaign is a matter of funding the renewal of facilities, infrastructure and programmatic resources. It’s important for faculty and staff to get behind that effort, Costa said.

“Reinvention is central to the vitality of any institution, and that's what this campaign is all about. This is our academic home – our university community, after all – so of course the campaign should matter to not just faculty but the entire Catamount community from that perspective,” he said.

“There is a practical aspect to this as well. It matters for the sake of competitiveness, student interest and community engagement. Quality and diversity of facilities and the programs they support have tangible and intangible effects that contribute to the growth and vitality of the university community – and, by extension, our surrounding communities here in southwestern North Carolina.”

Faculty and staff will also benefit from the campaign, Claxton said.

“Participating in athletics events, going to exhibitions at the museum and attending performances on campus, to name just a few faculty experiences, have made my almost 30 years at WCU rich and meaningful. I feel that I am part of a community, not just teaching classes,” Claxton said.

“WCU gives back in many ways. For my husband and me, our social activities usually revolve around campus. We meet our friends for ballgames, watch our students perform and eat lunch on Fridays in the dining hall. We think it’s fair to give back to an institution that has given so much to our family.”

In addition to making financial contributions to the campaign, faculty and staff can help highlight how philanthropy has made a difference in the lives of students, Mulholland said.

“They can provide the Advancement team with student success stories that have been made possible by past gifts,” he said. “Every faculty and staff member has witnessed the positive transformation and growth of a student throughout a program or programs. By supporting these programs, they can increase the availability of these life-changing experiences.”

Faculty members on the steering committee also said that strong faculty and staff participation in the campaign sends a message to alumni and other prospective donors.

“Let's face it. State budgets are lean these days, and we want to keep WCU affordable for students. The best way to accomplish this is through grant funding and charitable giving,” Young said. “Faculty and staff giving is never going to be the primary driver of a major fundraising campaign, but every contribution matters. It all adds up. It is also important for WCU development staff to be able to show potential donors that we are all behind this effort and this university.”

Costa echoed that sentiment. “This is an undertaking that benefits the entire university, and there is much to be said for making a contribution to the advancement of one's community. We do that in other ways, whether through volunteerism or donating to causes we care about. Well, this is a cause that we should care about because it is focused squarely on our academic home,” he said.

“We work so hard because we love what we do and where we do it, so giving financially at whatever level is both a ‘vote of confidence’ and material support for the continued vitality of the institution, programs and students that we dedicate ourselves to every day. We should be supporting it – in spirit certainly and, if possible, materially. We should be talking it up, helping the university make the case and making our own modest contribution where we can.”

For Young, participating in the “Fill the Western Sky” campaign was never a question.

“Personally, I love WCU. This is my home. I can't imagine not providing support for the students that we are all here to serve,” he said.

Claxton, Costa, Mulholland and Young are among the more than 560 faculty and staff members of the Shetland Society. One of four giving societies established by the Division of Advancement in 2020 to celebrate the impact of philanthropy, the Shetland Society acknowledges faculty and staff gifts made on an annual basis. The society is named for the Shetland ponies that then-Chancellor A.C. Reynolds purchased in 1912 to haul supplies by cart from Sylva to campus.

An initiative to increase faculty and staff membership in the Shetland Society kicks off Wednesday, Sept. 4. The effort, which will continue through Wednesday, Oct. 23, includes a faculty and staff giving challenge. Each WCU college and division will have a “Giving Champion,” a volunteer who has committed to encouraging his or her colleagues to give back to WCU.

The campus division and academic college with the highest participation rate of donors will share the Faculty/Staff Giving Champions Trophy. The goal for this year’s effort is to increase the faculty and staff participation rate to 26 percent.

Faculty and staff donors will be recognized during the fourth annual Shetland Society Day, set for Wednesday, Sept. 25, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. on the lawn of A.K. Hinds University Center and the Alumni Tower. The event also will double as the campus launch of the “Fill the Western Sky” campaign.

For more information, contact Rebekah Cheney, director of annual giving, at 828-227-2868 or via email at rcheney@wcu.edu. To make a gift, visit makeagift.wcu.edu.