Hendrix Alumni Blogazine

Hendrix continues to chart progress toward its goal of raising $100 million by 2010, when A Commitment to National Leadership: The Hendrix Campaign is scheduled to end. By mid-April 2008, the College had raised more than $76 million in gifts and pledges toward its overall goal. That amount includes:
• $12.9 million toward construction of a new Student Life and Technology Center.
• $5.75 million toward Odyssey Professorships
• $1 million toward the Odyssey Endowment
• $1.7 million toward the current Annual Fund goal

The leadership of the campaign cabinet, chaired by R. Madison and Suzanne Nodini Murphy, both ’80, and Dan ’80 and Jennifer Jacuzzi Peregrin ’81, has been critical to the current success of the campaign, as has the support of the Hendrix Trustees.

For the rest of 2008, efforts will focus on raising the remaining funds necessary to complete the Student Life and Technology Center. This goal must be reached by the end of the year to qualify for a $1.5 million challenge grant from the Mabee Foundation.

Your support for the Hendrix Campaign will guarantee our success in establishing Hendrix as a national leader for engaged learning in the liberal arts.  For more information about how you can be part of the future of Hendrix, contact the Office of Advancement at 501-450-1223 or 877-208-8777, or visit www.hendrix.edu/giving.

As a professor of English Dr. Walter Moffatt ’32 created a lasting legacy at Hendrix College during his lifetime. When he died on Christmas Day 2007 at the age of 96, he added to that legacy through a generous donation to the College in his will.

During his 29 years as a member of the Hendrix faculty, Dr. Moffatt had a strong presence in the Hendrix community. Current Hendrix professor Chuck Chappell said of his former professor “He was dapper ... and always a gentleman. He’d tip his hat, say 'hello' when he met you.”

In the classroom, Dr. Moffatt was tough but well-liked. As professor of English, chair of the English Department and Area Head for the Humanities, Dr. Moffatt helped the college become the nationally recognized institution it is today and strengthened the English department.

After retiring to his childhood home in Monticello in 1977, Dr. Moffat remained involved in the life of the College and with Hendrix alumni. He continued his strong love of music and traveling, supporting local music programs and leading tours all around the globe for 25 years.
With his broad interests and strong commitment to excellence, Dr. Moffatt lived the Hendrix motto of “unto the whole person.”

“He personified the ‘Hendrix way’,” Dr. Chappell said.  “He was a giant in the history of Hendrix, in my opinion. He was an inspiring teacher. Beloved would be a good word to describe him.”

With his gift to the new Students Life and Technology Center, the impact of his long and well-lived life will be felt by generations of Hendrix students who did not have the privilege of calling him “Professor.”

Checking the charts and noting progress

Hendrix is charting progress. We’re moving ahead quickly. We’re looking back to note how far we’ve come. We’re looking forward, scanning the horizon and turning our sextant toward the stars to make sure we stay on course.

So, what is the result of all this reconnaissance? How are we doing?

Great! Your college is making progress on every front. The progress we have made so far is impressive and inspiring. Some examples:

• By the time you read this message, I am confident we will have met our original $70 million campaign goal more than a year ahead of schedule. We stand at $69 million today, with more gifts and pledges expected to arrive before the end of the year.
• We have raised our campaign goal to $100 million and extended the end date to 2010.
• We have received two challenge grants that, when met, will generate $12 million in endowed funds to support the Odyssey program and embed it in the Hendrix culture.
• We have built an endowment of more than $10 million to support scholarships and financial aid.
• We opened a new $23 million Wellness and Athletics Center with a dinner and a convocation attended by more than 700 people where former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley was the featured speaker.
• We have awarded close to $1 million in grants to support 1,747 Odyssey projects involving Hendrix students and faculty on campus, throughout the United States and on six continents. Odyssey projects have life-changing impact on students like Lynn Christenson ’09 whose work feeding children at an orphanage in Tanzania helped her discover how she can make a difference in the world.
• We have selected Hendrix alumni to receive honors, among them the 2007-08 Odyssey Medals, which will be presented on Thursday, Feb. 7.
• We have seen close friends of the College honored. On Nov. 14, Lucile Shivley ’32, a long-time supporter of Hendrix, was named 2007 Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year by the Arkansas chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). Hendrix nominated Lucile for the well-deserved honor. Her youthful joy in giving is an inspiration to all of us.

We have accomplished much and we have many reasons to celebrate. Yet Hendrix’s odyssey toward national leadership in engaged liberal arts education is just beginning. There is so much more ahead – so many more moments of triumph to savor, so many more challenges to overcome – before this journey ends.

The first challenges on our horizon are housing a growing student population, endowing the Odyssey Program to ensure that this vital component of the College’s curriculum remains a part of our culture and building a new Student Life and Technology Center to meet the needs of Hendrix students now and in the future.

We are addressing the need for housing by beginning construction on townhouses at the intersection of Mills and Front streets (adjacent to the Art buildings) that will provide space for 70 students in the fall of 2008. We are also, with guidance from the campus master plan, evaluating sites for new on-campus housing, and are considering several options for student housing in The Village at Hendrix, the retail and residential neighborhood being developed east of Harkrider.

Keeping Hendrix at the forefront of American higher education is the unifying goal of The Campaign for Hendrix and is at the center of our discussions about the College’s future. To establish and maintain Hendrix as a national leader in engaged liberal arts is the reason we are raising $100 million by 2010. When we reach this goal, we should have the funds to support the Odyssey Program in perpetuity and to construct the kind of Student Life and Technology Center that will meet the needs of Hendrix students in the 21^st century.

We can’t reach our goal without your continued support. I encourage you to become involved with Hendrix and discover how your support can make a difference in the lives of today’s students. I believe we really are changing the lives of those who can change the world.

Charting Progress: Charitable Gift Annuities

Garth ’52 and Joann Martin ’55 are making a difference at Hendrix, because they believe Hendrix is making a difference in the world.

The Martins, who met on campus and just celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary, still have an affinity for Hendrix after all these years. They recently used planned giving as a means to contribute to the college’s Wellness and Athletics Center. The gift garnered them naming rights for the Hall of Honor.

For Garth, who played football, basketball and ran track at Hendrix, the Wellness and Athletics Center was a perfect fit. Joann, however, is more interested in the upcoming Student Life and Technology Center, which she believes will be a benefit to the Hendrix community.

The Martins believe planned giving is a win-win situation for everyone involved. “Through charitable gift annuities, we were able to make a gift to Hendrix,” said Garth, who added his motives weren’t completely altruistic. “The gift also provided us with an additional income.”

The couple, who served on the Alumni Board of Directors for six years, still find time in their busy volunteer schedule to visit campus regularly for special events such as Alumni Weekend and the Candlelight Carol Service.  Joann says they don’t collect “things” and instead choose to use what money they have to help others through planned giving.

“Hendrix has made tremendous strides in the last few years,” said Garth. “This means we may make some strides in the world,” Joann added.

The Martins are making a difference. Will you?

For more information about giving to Hendrix, contact the Office of Advancement at 501-450-1223 or visit www.hendrix.edu/giving.