Summary of 2009 Donation Campaign
2009 was a banner year for Olivet University with significant developments across the entire school. Donations from the alumni and friends of Olivet contributed to numerous projects to fulfill the University's annual priorities. Here are some of the projects that those donations helped fulfill in 2009:
1. Academic Opportunities and Excellence
Faculty Resources and Support
Faculty development was a key success in 2009 centered on Olivet's Teaching and Learning Center (OTLC). The OTLC provided financial support for a number of faculty that sought further training in their fields through seminars, conferences, and even tuition support to seek advanced degrees. In fact, two Olivet-supported faculty members completed advanced degrees in their respective fields in 2009. OTLC has continued to provide resources to improve courses and provide extra opportunities for students in those courses.
Student Scholarship and Financial Assistance
Olivet University's general scholarship fund gave financial assistance to hundreds of students in 2009. With students coming from around the globe, even from impoverished regions such as South East Asia and Africa, the scholarship fund was able to provide financial assistance to support the tuition of students who would otherwise not have been able to.
2. Increased Learning Resources
Library Facility
Located just minutes from the San Francisco downtown campus, Olivet University's extension library was opened in Summer 2009. Donations went towards acquiring and renovating new facility that now house over 30,000 books.
Library Resources
In 2009, the University contracted with the world's largest Christian bookshop to purchase their entire collection. Consisting of over 500,000 books located in North Carolina, many of the books were moved to the extension library in San Francisco to increase the learning resources for students on campus.
In addition, the Ralph D. Winter Library Project (http://www.rdwl.org) was re-launched in Spring 2009 with an upgraded platform with the goal to develop the largest electronic library of digital resources for the Christian community. Donations to Olivet University helped expand the E-library offerings by subscribing to world-class academic databases like EBSCO with access to over 7,000,000 articles.
3. Improve Quality of Living
Student Union
Amenities in the University's Student Union were upgraded in 2009 with new equipment, furniture, and improved lighting. The Student Union provides a relaxing atmosphere for students to gather in fellowship and prayer.
4. Updated Online Education
Broadcasting Equipment
Broadcasting equipment is vital to the delivery of Olivet University's online education to its broad student base. This year, the University's broadcasting team was also assigned to staff the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) 2009 General Assembly in Pattaya, Thailand. The University's staff and equipment were used throughout the six day conference that served numerous world-wide Christian leaders.
MyOlivet Development
Olivet's Research & Development (R&D) significantly benefited from donor contributions in 2009. Contributions went towards research and updates to the University's portal, also known as MyOlivet with the latest digital tools. The portal is an important method of communication between faculty, staff and online students which includes online office hours, tutoring, chatroom for student discussions, and much more. Expect many new developments in MyOlivet in 2010!