I agree with Beast........ Generosity does not have to come solely from discretionary income.
We all could consider mentoring a St. John's student, who is the first in his/her family to attend college and who may need the advice of someone who has been through the college experience.
When it is practical we all could seriously consider hiring a qualified St. John's grad.
We all could consider hiring a St. John's student as an intern, if qualified for the position.
We can be involved in helping the University recruit students.
We can help the Alumni Relations Dept. (leverage their time) by reaching out to grads in our towns and neighborhoods.
We all could consider hosting a BBQ each summer for incoming freshman at a minimal expense.
Speaking positively about the University is easy to do and doesn't cost a dime.
People can do whatever they want with their hard earned dollars.
We all know that times are tough, and in some cases very tough for many.
That said, is it really that much of a hardship to contribute $100 annually and have the check earmarked to help those students who are financially challenged to buy books ??
After all, we are all products of the Vincentian ideal.
As I've discussed with you in the past, I contacted the career office previously to hire interns, and directly to the department which the specific major I was looking for is located. After multiple attempts at contacts and a request for the curriculum going unheeded, I gave up. Our administration does not come close the competency of other well regarded schools. It's time for Bobby to chuck the "mom and pop" SJU administration philosophy, abandon the "hire at the lowest possible salary" policy, and get highly qualified administrators and faculty on board. for the record, I recently posted an internship position for the upcoming school year, and am hopeful a qualified candidate emerges. Anyone who would like more information can private message me.
That being said, JSJ, this was an excellent post that points out that there are many ways to support the university in addition to donations. For many $100 seems like a lot, but it's difficult to eat a full dinner for two out without spending that much, or go to a movie and keep it under $50. In reality, helping the university improve helps ourselves to a degree. The face value of a degree from a college is always taken at face value. So a Villanova or BC grad from 30 years ago benefits from the much improved academic profile of both those schools when job searching.
