Post by edcrane on Nov 3, 2013 16:59:11 GMT -6
Houston businesswoman and GSU alumnae donates $10K
www.thenewsstar.com/article/20131103/NEWS01/311030047/Houston-businesswoman-and-GSU-alumnae-donates-10K
Audrey Gilbreath, a 1979 Grambling State University alumnae, made sure she did not just talk the talk.
Saying “the true measure of a proud university is its legacy” during a homecoming alumni event, Gilbreath wrote a check to the university foundation for $10,000.
GSU President Frank G. Pogue was surprised, but quite pleased.
“The only thing we know for certain is that Grambling needs financial contributions,” said Gilbreath, the president and chief executive officer of Houston-based Gilbreath Communications. “We forget and we lose touch, and if no one says to us let me reel you back in and help you to recognize where your roots really started” then many won’t give back.
Gilbreath also emphasized the importance of alumni giving during a Friday afternoon convocation, and she encouraged the university to challenge students to give back, too.
Louisiana has cut funding to higher education institutions significantly, including Grambling State, which has seen its state funding cut from about $31 million six years ago to about $13 million this academic year.
Gilbreath said “the state of Louisiana does not pick up the slack” financially, and that’s something a majority of Historically Black Colleges and Universities are facing.
“It’s an HBCU story,” said Pogue. “We’ve raised tuition every year in the last six years and we have lost (significant state) funding, yet we don’t have any negative audits.”
Pogue explained that the state continues to increase student entry requirements at the institution, making it harder for students to qualify under a law called the Louisiana Grad Act. The law allows universities to increase tuition by 10 percent if they meet specific requirements. The president said this approach causes some students to be “priced out of an education.”
That’s why Gilbreath said she is giving more, and challenging other alumni to do the same.
Gilbreath, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., was a radio and television major and a journalism minor during her time at Grambling State. She said she decided before the university’s recent football team controversy that she was going to give a substantial donation, and the recent troubles convinced her she made the right decision.
“I have gained a lot more than that (amount) from the education that I received at Grambling,” she said, “so to me it’s just a drop in the bucket.”
www.thenewsstar.com/article/20131103/NEWS01/311030047/Houston-businesswoman-and-GSU-alumnae-donates-10K
Audrey Gilbreath, a 1979 Grambling State University alumnae, made sure she did not just talk the talk.
Saying “the true measure of a proud university is its legacy” during a homecoming alumni event, Gilbreath wrote a check to the university foundation for $10,000.
GSU President Frank G. Pogue was surprised, but quite pleased.
“The only thing we know for certain is that Grambling needs financial contributions,” said Gilbreath, the president and chief executive officer of Houston-based Gilbreath Communications. “We forget and we lose touch, and if no one says to us let me reel you back in and help you to recognize where your roots really started” then many won’t give back.
Gilbreath also emphasized the importance of alumni giving during a Friday afternoon convocation, and she encouraged the university to challenge students to give back, too.
Louisiana has cut funding to higher education institutions significantly, including Grambling State, which has seen its state funding cut from about $31 million six years ago to about $13 million this academic year.
Gilbreath said “the state of Louisiana does not pick up the slack” financially, and that’s something a majority of Historically Black Colleges and Universities are facing.
“It’s an HBCU story,” said Pogue. “We’ve raised tuition every year in the last six years and we have lost (significant state) funding, yet we don’t have any negative audits.”
Pogue explained that the state continues to increase student entry requirements at the institution, making it harder for students to qualify under a law called the Louisiana Grad Act. The law allows universities to increase tuition by 10 percent if they meet specific requirements. The president said this approach causes some students to be “priced out of an education.”
That’s why Gilbreath said she is giving more, and challenging other alumni to do the same.
Gilbreath, a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., was a radio and television major and a journalism minor during her time at Grambling State. She said she decided before the university’s recent football team controversy that she was going to give a substantial donation, and the recent troubles convinced her she made the right decision.
“I have gained a lot more than that (amount) from the education that I received at Grambling,” she said, “so to me it’s just a drop in the bucket.”