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By Ellen K. Ashcraft When Dr. Fritz Allen became interim dean of Arts and Sciences in June 2000, he wanted to use his position to create financial opportunities for the deans who would come after him. So he launched a campaign to raise unrestricted funds to enhance the mission of the College. "We started two endowments," Allen explains. "One is called Enhancements to Teaching. The other is Enhancements to Research. The concept is that one of the two accounts will be applicable to any project the College wants to pursue." The College has raised about $30,000 in lead gifts. The endowments were begun with gifts from Dr. G. Dana Brabson, research assistant professor of chemistry; Dr. Joan Bybee, chair of linguistics; Dr. Abraham Franck, Minneapolis, Minn., who received bachelor of science and master of arts degrees in mathematics from UNM in 1939 and 1940 respectively; Dr. Thomas Niemczyk, chair of chemistry, and Roberta Cooper Ramo, former president of the UNM Board of Regents. "I'm a great believer in supporting things that are the underdogs," Franck says. "It's obvious that science is going to get support because it really is the strongest base for our economy, so I say 'Hey, why not support some of these other activities?'" Franck, a Popejoy Society member, also has been a donor to fine arts and the Presidential Scholarship Program at UNM. Brabson, also a consistent donor to the University, says his generosity stems from his conviction that education, science, technology and engineering are essential to the economic welfare of the United States, and that getting more young people interested and involved in these fields is crucial. For the Department of Chemistry in particular, Brabson hopes the new endowments will help accomplish several things. First, help professors to be better teachers. "Chemistry professors typically don't pay much attention to education and very often don't lecture very well," he notes, explaining that today's freshman and sophomore students often have trouble grasping chemistry's abstract concepts. Brabson also would like to see the department continue to stimulate interest in the sciences via outreach to high school, middle school and grade school students. Finally, he would encourage departmental collaboration with other colleges in bridging science, technology and the arts, which he says would help students to better understand abstract thought. "The College is called upon to do innumerable things that are outside the funding provided by the University," comments Allen. "Almost nothing we do is fully funded. I was hoping to help out future deans by building a fund that would allow them the flexibility to do more of what we do." Allen proffers a long list of worthy, College-supported activities that receive zero University funding. At their discretion, future deans might use unrestricted funds from the endowments to:
"Right now, we scramble for money to get those things done," says Allen. "We need some way to help future deans deal with these issues." Allen would like the annual calling campaign and other fund-raising efforts to provide money for these endowments. To help, he included in the 2001-2002 budget resources for a junior constituent development officer and another clerical support position, in addition to the senior constituent development officer. Allen says this inclusion will provide the new dean, Dr. Reed Dasenbrock, with real opportunities and skilled personnel for the College's fund-raising needs. UNM
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© 2006 The University of New Mexico. |
Winter 2002
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