September 28, 2007

Gift to Purdue Alumni Association to jump-start endowment drive

Tamara Morse
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Alumni association officers will announce the drive and deferred gift from Tamara Morse, a former president of the organization, at its board of directors reunion meeting on Friday (Sept. 28).

"We are grateful for Tamara's continuing support of the alumni association and Purdue," said Kirk Cerny, executive director and chief executive officer of the association.

"Her dedication to Purdue over the years is an example of the caring and involved alumni we are proud to support. Her belief in this endowment will go a long way toward helping us better meet the needs of Purdue's current alumni and the students of the university. With Tamara's help, we have already raised $2 million toward our goal."

Morse's contribution will create the Tamara Morse Purdue Alumnae Leadership Initiative, a new program that will provide funding for outreach endeavors aimed at Purdue alumnae and women.

Possible objectives include increasing opportunities for women to serve as volunteer leaders on boards and committees at Purdue and with the alumni association, as well as volunteer leadership positions in student organizations on the West Lafayette campus. 

"As an original member of the Women of Purdue's fundraising effort during the Campaign for Purdue, I discovered how many alumnae and friends were eager for more association with Purdue," Morse said. "It helped me realize that we could offer more opportunities to our alumnae, students and friends. When I was a student at Purdue, the percentage of women students was small. I want to ensure that young women have access to leadership opportunities now and in the future."

Morse served as president of the Purdue Alumni Association's board of directors from 2003-05 and also has served as president of the Purdue Club of Puget Sound in Seattle. Previously, she made contributions toward the construction of the Krannert School of Management's Rawls Hall and the library in the Dick and Sandy Dauch Alumni Center. Morse was a lead donor for the Delta Gamma Lectureship in Values and Ethics at Purdue. She also helped endow a scholarship in mechanical engineering to honor her father Fred Morse, who taught in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue for 39 years.

Morse has been honored several times for her dedication and service to Purdue. In 1999 she was named a distinguished alumna of the Krannert School of Management. In 2003 she was presented with the Extraordinary Boilermaker Award. The College of Education also named her a distinguished alumna in 2005.

"The Purdue Alumni Association is really a point of connection and engagement for alumni all over the world," Morse said. "I'm excited to have a part in widening that access for alumni and friends."

Morse, who lives in Port Ludlow, Wash., owns Morse Financial Group, a company that specializes in the development of secure retirement and estate plans designed to transfer assets to the next generation of families. She maintains offices in Port Ludlow, Tucson and West Lafayette.

Before creating her own financial company, Morse spent eight years with Chevron USA, working from San Francisco and Seattle in the analysis of company assets and budgeting.

Morse, who earned both her bachelor's and master's degrees in education from Purdue, went on to obtain her MBA from Purdue's Krannert School of Management in 1978.

The Loyalty Lives Here endowment drive seeks to raise funds for the not-for-profit organization in four major areas that affect the alumni association and Purdue, including advisory, advocacy, donation and recruitment. Goals for each area include:

• $500,000 for advisory outreach, which focuses on the ability of alumni to provide leadership and outreach to current Purdue students. The association hopes to endow four programs as part of the advisory component, including grants to Purdue student organizations for the development of programs that improve the quality of campus life.

Student and Alumni Community grants would be awarded both to current Purdue students and alumni for projects that impact either group in a meaningful way. Faculty incentive grants are aimed at allowing Purdue alumni to support the development and retention of junior faculty at Purdue, while Purdue Alumni Association School/College grants offer alumni the chance to support the college or school of their choice through engagement programming.

• $2 million for communication and technology mediums, including the Purdue Alumnus magazine and the alumni association's Web site at https://www.purduealum.org.

"Purdue alumni are the best advocates of the university," Cerny said. "When they are armed with the latest information about Purdue, they're more likely to share that good news with others who become involved as well or to communicate with state legislators on behalf of Purdue as a result. It's important that we keep up with the changing ways alumni access information."

• $1.8 million for alumni recruitment, particularly student and young alumni development.

Money raised in this area will benefit several programs and scholarships aimed at future alumni and recent graduates.

"At the Purdue Alumni Association, we're dedicated to tacking the tough issues that affect Purdue," Cerny said. "The gap between tuition increases and funding from the state impacts our students. Participation by young alumni in their alma maters has been dropping annually nationwide. We need to reach out to young people at all levels."

Annual scholarships, such as the Rising Star and Golden Star student alumni scholarships, are awarded to current students who represent the best qualities in future alumni association leaders. Other programs like the association's student ambassadors, allow current students to educate their peers about the mission and purpose of the alumni association.

• $700,000 in unrestricted funds that can be used for requests that are outside the association's budget or are time sensitive.

"The needs of our alumni change more rapidly than ever," Cerny said. "Unrestricted endowments give us the ability to act swiftly, stay lithe and keep our programs meaningful."

The goals of the endowment drive were chosen based upon the needs and expectations of the association's members, he said.

"We're here to help alumni build strong relationships between themselves and Purdue," Cerny said. "That's been our job since 1878 and will continue to be No. 1."

The Purdue Alumni Association, located in the Dick and Sandy Dauch Alumni Center, is the ninth largest society of its kind in the United States.

Writer: Tanya Brown, (765) 494-2079, tanyabrown@purdue.edu

Sources: Kirk Cerny, (765) 494-0764, kcerny@purdue.edu

Jeff Weitekamp, jweiteka@purdue.edu

Nicole Reas, (765) 496-6193, nreas@purdue.edu

Tamara Morse, tamara@morsefinancialgroup.com

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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