Hunter Annual Fund

HUNTER COLLEGE – A CASE FOR SUPPORT
The Hunter College Motto: "The Care of the Future is Mine" aptly
states the Hunter mission. Hunter cares for the future by providing
thousands of students and families the ability to attain an excellent,
affordable education. Hunter’s graduates go on to become the future
teachers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, civic leaders and other
professionals who in turn give back to our city and nation, building
for future generations.

Heralded as the "Crown Jewel of CUNY" by The Princeton Review,
Hunter College offers more than 70 undergraduate BA and BS
programs, 75 graduate programs, and 10 BA-MA programs. With a
highly diverse student population of more than 20,000 and over 1,200
full and part-time faculty, Hunter is the largest college in the City
University of New York system. Hunter is noted for its professional
schools in education, health sciences, nursing and social work, as
well as its excellence in the liberal arts. The College has a
distinguished reputation for nurturing talented minority scientists and
meeting the challenge of providing high-quality science education in
the 21st century.

The high caliber of Hunter’s students and alumni is truly remarkable
in light of the fact that more than half are the first in their families to
attend college. Hunter has helped thousands of students and
families attain the American Dream, such as Dr. Eric Jarvis, a
Hunter alumnus and Duke Professor of Neurobiology who has made
extraordinary contributions in the field of neurobiology. He recently
received the prestigious National Science Foundation Alan
Waterman Award, which gives $500,000 to one scientist in the
country each year. Dr. Jarvis came to Hunter from a background of
poverty and hardship. Without Hunter, Dr. Jarvis and many other
gifted women and men would never have attended college and
achieved a degree that would prepare them to make significant
advancements in their chosen professions.

Providing students of all backgrounds with the opportunity to
challenge their intellects and broaden their horizons through higher
education is what Hunter College has done from its earliest days. In
1870 Thomas Hunter, an Irish immigrant and social reformer, started
the school to train young women to become teachers. Thomas
Hunter sought to educate and thereby empower immigrants who
otherwise would not have access to higher education. Women still
constitute a majority of the student body, although the College
became fully coeducational in 1964. In addition, Hunter is the only
college in the world that has produced two female Nobel laureates:
Rosalyn Yallow and Gertrude Elion.

Hunter’s 13th President, Jennifer J. Raab, who joined the College in
June 2001, is reinvigorating Thomas Hunter’s vision. She is
challenging faculty, students, staff and alumni to push the
boundaries of academic excellence while maintaining its incredible
diversity. President Raab is committed to providing the resources
and financial support that will enable Hunter students to realize their
educational goals and carry on the College legacy: "The Care of the
Future is Mine."

To help achieve this, Hunter needs the financial support of alumni
and friends. Gifts to the Annual Fund and Major Gift programs
ensure that the college will provide support for essential scholarships
and programs enabling Hunter students to graduate and continue the
Hunter tradition to build tomorrow’s future.

Fundraising Needs
Hunter strives to remain open to qualified students of all
backgrounds, while also upholding high academic standards. This
dual mission places significant financial strain on the College. As a
public institution committed to accessibility, Hunter’s tuition is low.
The income from tuition, consequently, is not nearly enough to meet
the costs of maintaining Hunter’s high-quality academic programs,
faculty, research centers, and facilities. Gifts to the Annual Fund
and Major Gift programs supplement and enhance College programs
and projects not covered through the State budget.

The Annual Fund
The Annual Fund is a critical component of Hunter’s effort to meet
funding needs. Money raised by the Annual Fund will be distributed
among the following four crucial areas:

A. Student Scholarships
More than one-half of Hunter students are achieving a unique goal, to
be the first in their families to complete a college degree. They do
this while working: two-thirds of our students are employed. Through
scholarships, Hunter can begin to relieve some of its students of the
strain of balancing work and study. Monies raised through the
Annual Fund will also support the:

CUNY Honors Program at Hunter College

Hunter’s CUNY Honors Program has been the most
successful in the CUNY system. In Fall 2002, enrollment in
the Honors Program increased from 40 to 64 students while
retaining the entire Fall 2001 class - the only CUNY school
with 100% retention. Five of these students are from Hunter
College High School. The goal for Fall 2003 is to increase the
Honors class to 80 entering students.

Graduate Fellowship Program

With a solid reputation in its professional programs, Hunter
offers a diversity of Master’s degrees. Art, Urban Planning
and Urban Affairs, Social Work, Integrated Media Arts, and
Creative Writing are just a few examples of graduate
disciplines in which the College excels. Hunter is committed
to building world renowned graduate programs.

B. Faculty
Recruiting and retaining strong teachers is one of Hunter’s top
priorities. In order to remain competitive with private colleges for the
best new faculty and to prevent the draining of Hunter’s top teachers
to higher-paid positions, the College must be able to supplement its
faculty’s compensation packages through the establishment of new
faculty chairs and annual President’s Prizes.

In addition, Hunter would like to be able to continue and expand its
visiting scholars program. Through the visiting scholars program,
students have the opportunity to study under leading figures in
academia, experts with valuable practical knowledge of their fields,
or scholars who specialize in areas underrepresented in the Hunter
curricula.

Having the best possible faculty of teachers and scholars at Hunter
raises the quality of the educational experience at Hunter,
challenges and inspires students, and elevates Hunter’s profile
through its faculty’s scholarly achievements.

C. Program Support
Offering over 150 programs of study, Hunter faces a significant
challenge in striving to remain at the forefront of these academic and
professional fields. In order to foster cutting-edge research and
provide students with a thorough and up-to-date understanding of
their subjects, the College must continue to invest in new
technologies and educational initiatives. Hunter also seeks to keep
its information systems up-to-date through new acquisitions for the
library and subscriptions to electronic databases and academic
journals for effective online research.

CUNY Honors Program at Hunter College

Support for student excellence includes investment in faculty
and general program resources. As Hunter fosters the growth
of its CUNY Honors Program, additional resources are
needed to support faculty for the intensive and focused class
sessions, special seminars, administrative mentoring, and
extra-curricula course activities that are part of the CUNY
Honors curriculum.

Lecture Programs

Lecture series programs are important supplements to
Hunter’s regular academic programs. These series provide
students, faculty, and alumni the opportunity to learn
intensively about a topic in the news, to be introduced to a
subject they might not otherwise have had the chance to
explore, or to hear a point of view to which they might not
have been exposed.

The Annual Fund will allow the College to provide resources for
departments and programs to further enhance their courses,
increase their research capabilities, and diversify their academic
offerings.

D. Facilities Enhancement
As steward to five major campuses, several research centers, an
extensive library, a sportsplex, a multifunctional playhouse, and a
New York landmark, Hunter faces a constant demand for projects to
repair and upgrade its facilities. There is urgent need for new lab
facilities; equipment for science and language programs;
performance space for the active music and theater programs; studio
space for the dance program; and seminar and conference spaces
for advanced coursework and important College functions. Support
from the Annual Fund will help Hunter to meet these facilities needs,
which are vital to its continued excellence.

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