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Students thank university tuition donors

CLARION, Pa. – Students gave thanks for their education on Tuesday and Wednesday during the second annual Tuition Freedom Day celebration.
Tuition Freedom Day gave students the opportunity to fill out thank you cards, which will be given to donors who contribute to Clarion. The Eagle Ambassadors and Clarion University Foundation organized the event.

“Tuition Freedom Day represents the last day of the academic year that the students ‘pay’ for their education,” said Holly Pipher, annual fund officer for Clarion University Foundation.
“Until that point, their education is covered by the tuition that they or their parents pay,” Pipher said. “After that, philanthropic donations and state funding support the students’ education.”

The thank-you cards will be used to show the major gift donors how thankful and appreciative the students are for their donations, in hopes that they will contribute again, said Annette Johnston, president of Eagle Ambassadors. In return for writing thank-you cards, students were given free T-shirts and cookies at a table set up in the Gemmell Student Complex.

Johnston said approximately 100 students visited the table and wrote thank-yous as of Tuesday afternoon. Pipher said she hopes that Tuition Freedom Day will raise awareness in the student body of the necessity of university fundraising efforts.

“Without outside funding, the tuition for many students would dramatically increase. We hope to educate students about the importance of giving back to the university and how they directly benefit from the generosity of others,” Pipher said. “They get the opportunity to thank those who help make their education affordable,” she said.

According to the Eagle Ambassadors in 2011, it costs $21,000 to educate students, but they only have to pay $14,000. The video states that the remaining $7,000 comes from the donors and state funding.

Donors can designate their money to go to any specific area they have an interest in, and all the money goes to the Clarion University Foundation. The complete list of donors for Clarion University can be found in the Dec. 2011 issue of “Clarion and Beyond.”