At this week’s celebration event unveiling the Women’s Basketball 2015 NCAA National Championship banner, Thomas More College President David A. Armstrong, J.D., announced that the college received a $500,000 gift from the R.C. Durr Foundation. This investment will further support the Thomas More College Success Center endowment initiative.
In May 2014, the college received an anonymous $4 million challenge gift that needs to be matched within four years. Thanks to the generosity of the R.C. Durr Foundation and previous donors, TMC is now more than halfway to its goal with $2 million raised to date in the first year of the initial challenge.
The R.C. Durr Foundation perpetuates the legacy of R. C. Durr, a native of Kenton County, who grew from humble beginnings to become one of the most respected and loved civic and business leaders in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Armstrong acknowledged his appreciation for the gift in saying, “We recognize the role that the R.C. Durr Foundation plays in our community and its long-standing support of Thomas More College. This generous gift demonstrates the power of community partners coming together to help transform lives.”
The TSC will be comprised of three institutes, which will support student success in the classroom and beyond graduation. The Dr. Anthony R. and Geraldine Zembrodt Institute for Academic Support provides peer-to-peer tutoring, academic coaching, and retention services for all students. The second will be the Institute for Learning Differences which will provide professional academic support for students with documented learning differences. The Institute for Career Development and Graduate School Planning provides resources with career planning, skill development and supports the college’s new experiential learning requirement.
With just $2 million more to go, Armstrong is optimistic in making the complete TSC initiative a reality for students in the near future. “The support for this initiative has been steadfast, and I believe our momentum will carry us through meeting this fundraising challenge as we reach out to partners to help prepare our students to succeed during their time at Thomas More College and throughout their entire careers,” he said.
When achieved, the challenge gifts will bring the total endowment initiative to $8 million. The lead matching gift came from the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr./US Bank Foundation in spring of 2014 and was followed in February, 2015 by a $1 million gift from TMC alumni Dr. Anthony R. Zembrodt ’65 and his wife Geraldine Zembrodt ‘66, propelling the college forward in its fundraising efforts.
To learn more about investing in the TSC, click here or contact Vice President for Institutional Advancement Cathy Silvers at cathy.silvers@thomasmore.edu or (859) 344-3344.
To read more on the NKyTribune about the R.C. Durr Foundation, see R.C. Durr was legend in his own time; now his legacy lives on through foundation’s work.
From Thomas More College