Have you ever wondered if your favorite history professor is still opening class with a bit of Southern humor? On Thursday evenings, do piano concertos drift through your mind as you recall those Hugh Hodgson concerts in the Chapel on North campus?

As students we paid our tuition, so why should we be donors?

We should be Franklin College supporters because our College needs us. The University of Georgia is a public university and as such many people believe we are fully state supported. In fact, only 37 percent of our budget needs comes from the state. Student fees and tuition make up another 14 percent, and the rest we search out from private and corporate donors, foundations and research grants.

This year was an especially tough year because our endowed funds which support named scholarships, professorships, lecture series, graduate student fellowships, and a host of other academic programs were hit hard by the economy and had no payouts. Fortunately, many donors stepped up to help us out by giving directly to these funds or to our Franklin College Development Fund. Our Development Fund is normally used by Dean Wyatt Anderson to initiate new programs within the College such as the very successful Franklin Residential College in Rutherford or the Franklin Fellows Program which assists newly recruited postdoctoral students with adjusting to campus and their teaching responsibilities.

This year, we drew heavily on the Development Fund and on the University’s unrestricted gifts to cover the shortfall in our investment income.

Your help is what makes and keeps the University in the top academic rankings. Without donor support we would not be successful in recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty and graduate students, assisting talented music and art students with their educational expenses, or be able to bring distinguished scientists, artists, and lecturers to campus.

Your support in the form of annual cash or credit card gifts is critically important to the academic mission of Franklin College. Please don’t discount the importance of your gifts of $25, $35, or $100. If you can give more, please do so. And if you want information on ways to maximize your giving while minimizing your taxes, please contact our development staff at (706) 542-4658 or toll-free at 888-268-5442.

If you have questions these are the staff members who will give you answers.

*Sarah Baines, Interim director of development for the College: 706/583-0825, ssimpson@franklin.uga.edu.

*Jennifer Messer, director of development and public relations for the Lamar Dodd School of Art: 706/542-0068, jlmesser@uga.edu.

*Cathy Owen, who provides support to the professional staffs of the Development Office, the Systems Group and Public Information office: 706/542-4658, cowen@franklin.uga.edu.

*Ruhanna Neal, director the alumni relations program, coordinator of annual giving and campaigns, and special events planner: 706/542-1558, rneal@franklin.uga.edu.

*Jeff Delk, director of development for the School of Music: 706/542-2061, jdelk@uga.edu.