By Judith L. Rhoads



We are lucky to live in a very generous
community. The people within the
college's service area have long supported
"their" college. The results of our first
major gifts campaign are evidence of their
generosity and their commitment to education.
With our first campaign we were
able to leverage the construction of two
new facilities, the Joe C. Davis Science
& Technology Building and the
Muhlenberg County classroom facility.


Last year we began our second major
gifts campaign, entitled "Fulfilling the
Promise," and already we have obtained
$1.7 million in gifts and pledges. We are
off to a wonderful start. I am particularly
proud of the commitment our faculty
and staff have made to the campaign,
totaling over $95,000 in gifts and pledges.
That is among the most successful internal
campaigns in the KCTCS.


"Fulfilling the Promise" focuses on
strengthening our endowments. Why?
Because well managed endowment income
will enable us to continue to support
high quality programming. Endowment
income enables us to support such
things as faculty development, fine arts
programming, use of up-to-date instructional
technology, and program development.


Perhaps most importantly, however,
endowment income enables us to support
scholarships. It enables us to extend opportunity
to those students who have the
ability, but not the financial wherewithal,
to attend MCC. That is a wonderful
legacy for any donor. I am particularly
excited about our School Counts initiative.


According to the US Census 2000, the
college-going rate of Kentuckians is not
high. School Counts can help us reverse
this trend. The School Counts initiative
will guarantee that high school graduates
in our area who meet certain performance
criteria receive significant financial assistance
to continue their education at the
postsecondary level.


The "Fulfilling the Promise" campaign
is one of permanence--and our students
will be better served as a result of it. We
are truly making a difference in western
Kentucky.