November 12, 2015

Letter to ALL Stillman Alumni and Friends:

 

My letter to you today is one of urgency and a matter of necessity. As the president of the National Alumni Association of Stillman College (NAASC), I am writing to make an urgent appeal to all alumni for your financial assistance in support of collective efforts at Stillman to repair and restore several residential facilities on Stillman's campus. At our Annual Executive Board of Directors meeting in October, we embraced and authorized a residential facilities repair and restoration initiative.  A few alumni were assigned to this special taskforce (to be later identified as the Repair and Restoration Taskforce). Corine Williams, Tommy Woods, Lee Jenkins, and several other Tuscaloosa area alumni have set up a work plan to achieve the needed repair and restoration of the facilities.  They have been working since then to get some of the work done through donations of supplies by church groups, businesses, alumni, and other individuals.  

 

Now, what is at hand is the fact that we must raise approximately  $150,000 in financial resources to do the work that has been planned by the Repair and Restoration Taskforce.  To energize our Alumni base and friends of Stillman, I have named our fund-raising project, the Residential Facilities Repair and Restoration Fund-raising Initiative (R&R Fund-raising Initiative). This $150,000 R&R Fund-raising Initiative is designed to assist the National Alumni Association in acquiring the finances and 

material resources to upgrade the residential facilities.   

 

To give you the backdrop for this request, Stillman College residence halls when in their best livable conditions can accommodate over nine hundred students. All freshmen and sophomore students, with the exception of students who graduated from a high school within a 50-mile radius of the College campus, are required to live on campus both semesters.  With these requirements in place, the College has to provide residential spaces conducive to living and learning.  The College currently has four residence halls closed: King, William, Winsbourgh, and Geneva.  Four other dorms are in need of some major repair work and if repairs are completed immediately, all students can be housed in the College's residence halls.  Stillman now houses nearly one hundred (100) of our students in apartments off campus which requires funds to go to local real estate properties not owned by Stillman.   

 

The Stillman Alumni must help the College get our students back in the residence halls on campus. The facilities must be repaired and the large monthly capital outlay could be retained by the College to assist with its daily operational costs. 

 

A number of  the residence halls need some major upgrades to improve the quality of life for our students.  They are in need of updated study areas, heating and air condition systems, lobby furnishing, restroom and shower areas re-tiled, and the ceiling tiles have to be replaced in student rooms, laundry facilities area, and break rooms. 

 

You can help by making donations to the National Alumni Association by way of online payment through our website:www.stillmanalumni.org or you can mail a donation to:

Office of Alumni Affairs, Attention - NAASC R&R Initiative

3601 Stillman Blvd. 

Tuscaloosa, AL  35401

 

Please make this check payable to NAASC and on the "for" line write R&R Initiative. A letter of receipt will be sent to each donor from the Association.  For those of you making contributions to the R&R Fund-raising Project, the National Association will submit a list of donors to the College for their records as well.  

 

Finally, I am asking you for donation of any amount; however, I would like for you to join me in donating at least $500 for this semester before December 15, 2015. This donation will not complete the task, however, our collective effort will aid the process. 

 

In closing, please know that theSouthern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges reaffirmed Stillman's accreditation in 2012 and the next reaffirmation is in 2020.  A core requirement that member institutions must maintain at all time is a solid and sound financial footing.   In addition to our support of the R&R Fund-raising Initiative, please do not forget to continue to send financial contributions to directly to the College in support of general operations (first option) and scholarships (as you denote).  

 

It is imperative that we increase the percentage of alumni giving because it strengthens the College's credibility of having the ability to continue to operate as an institution with a sound financial base. Yes, Stillman is an accredited institution!!! 

 

Warm Stillman regards,

Bruce Crawford, Ph.D.,

NAASC National President 

1543 Bridgewater Lane, 

Hoover, AL 35244 

205-540-0200 | drbcrawford@att.net 

205-929-6312  | bcrawford@lawsonstate.edu

 

 

 

What we need:

The R&R Fund-raising Initiative

 

The National Alumni Association of Stillman College has embarked upon this fund-raising project to assist the College in providing living and learning facilities that meet the basic needs of its students. Our Targeted goal is $150,000 by December 15, 2015.

The R&R Initiative is a much needed initiative that will assist the College in maintaining residential facilities that are conducive to living and learning.

The funds are needed for the following re-pairs:

 

•  HVAC system repair and electrical up-grade for rooms

•  Replace ceiling tiles throughout the buildings

•  Paint for refreshing areas throughout the buildings

•  Spray washing the exterior for a refresh-ing look

•  Cleaning supplies for general upkeep and maintenance

•  Restoring student studying commons

•  Replacement of ceramic tiles in showers and other flooring