Alison Kothe

The college had a lot to celebrate over Homecoming.  A big item was the completion of the Challenge of Excellence almost a year early and at over $68,000,000 – $8,000,000 above the goal for June 2013!!!

A lot of people were praised over the weekend for this great result.  From the Grunge’s perspective though, we didn’t acknowledge and thank one of the main drivers – Alison Kothe – nearly enough.

Here are the numbers:

• October 2010 – Campaign announced and quiet phase had generated a total of over $36,000,000.
• Fall 2011 – the college decided to accelerate the completion of the campaign looking at the upcoming elections and fears of their impact on the economy.
• October 2011 – The COE stood at $44,700,000.
• December 2011 – Alison took over the staff leadership of the COE and agreed to delay her retirement to lead the effort.
• September 2012 – COE at over $68,000,000 – up over $23,000,000 in less than a year.  Well over 95% of the increase was the result of the staff’s efforts.
• And “oh, by the way”:  Largest gift to the college in that timeframe was cultivated by…Alison Kothe.

It was Alison’s vision, leadership, drive, and personal dedication that motivated the staff to achieve.  She modeled dedicated, over-the-top performance.

Thanks, Alison.  Those of us who have the pleasure of working beside you know how hard you’ve worked and how much you have done.