[081] MTSU Development Office's Fall Phonathon Begins Sept. 12

Release date: Sept. 10, 2010

News & Public Affairs contact: Randy Weiler, 615-898-5616 or jweiler@mtsu.edu
Development contact: Meredith Kerr, 615-898-2728 or mkerr@mtsu.edu

MTSU Development Office’s Fall Phonathon Begins Sept. 12


(MURFREESBORO) — Each academic semester, the MTSU Office of Development and current students call alumni from each academic college on campus.
A primary purpose of this phone call is to provide alumni with current news from the university and its respective colleges as well as update their contact information, said Meredith Kerr, associate director of annual giving.
Students also ask for a contribution to the MTSU Foundation Annual Fund in support of the university’s annual fundraising efforts. Calls generally will be made Sunday through Thursday evenings.
The fall Phonathon will begin Sunday, Sept. 12. For two days, students will call those interested in contributing to the James E. Walker Library and University Honors College.
The remaining schedule is:
• Sept. 14-27 — Jennings A. Jones College of Business;
• Sept. 28-Oct.12 — College of Liberal Arts;
• Oct. 21-31 — College of Mass Communication;
• Nov. 1-15 — College of Basic and Applied Sciences; and
• Nov. 16-Dec. 2 — College of Education and Behavioral Sciences.
The mission of the MTSU Phonathon is to build the university’s alumni participation through yearly gifts from alumni, parents and students by informing them about the current needs on campus, Kerr said.
“The Phonathon is our ‘home visit from students’ to our alumni,” she said. “It is an important component of our efforts to increase private support for the institution and enhance our academic departments and programs.”
Contributions made to the MTSU Annual Fund through the Phonathon can be designated to any specific need or area of interest, Kerr said. These can include but are not limited to student scholarships, innovative academic endeavors, new computer/laboratory equipment, special library and departmental acquisitions, facilities improvement or special academic initiatives and projects.
Gifts to the MTSU Annual Fund are vital in helping MTSU remain Tennessee’s Best comprehensive university and among the best in the nation, Kerr said, adding that every gift, no matter what size, enhances MTSU academic departments and programs.
For more information, call 615-898-2502 or e-mail devofc@mtsu.edu.

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With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.

For MTSU news and information, go to mtsunews.com.