Upper Iowa University sets $1 million goal for 2011 Team Peacock Scholarship Drive; receives $300,000 gift from ARAMARK
Trevor D. Ferguson, associate vice president Midwest region, ARAMARK Higher Education, presents UIU President Alan G. Walker with a check for $300,000.
FAYETTE, Iowa (September 21, 2010) — Upper Iowa University has issued the challenge to raise one million dollars to fund student scholarships. UIU President Alan G. Walker announced the challenge to UIU alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends on September 21, as he launched the Team Peacock 2011 Scholarship Fund Drive.
During a news conference in Des Moines Tuesday, President Walker also announced that ARAMARK, an international company that is the food service provider on UIU’s Fayette campus, has accepted the challenge and given UIU a $300,000 gift for the Team Peacock Scholarship Fund. ARAMARK is a leader in professional services, providing award-winning food services, facilities management, and uniform and career apparel to health care institutions, universities and school districts, stadiums and arenas, and businesses around the world.
“ARAMARK is proud to support Upper Iowa University and the UIU Team Peacock Scholarship Fund,” said Trevor Ferguson, associate vice president, ARAMARK Higher Education. “We salute Team Peacock on another outstanding fundraising effort that will enable so many students to advance their education with scholarships.”
UIU has been conducting the Team Peacock Scholarship Fund Drive each year since 2005, primarily by soliciting individual donor pledges and corporate sponsorships to support UIU Team Peacock’s participation in the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). Each year the number of participating riders has increased as has the amount of funds they raised for the scholarship fund. Since 2005, Team Peacock has raised more than $500,000 for student scholarships.
“We are extremely grateful to ARAMARK for its generous support of scholarships for UIU students. In the spirit of that gift, I challenge each UIU alumni, every member of the UIU community, and all of our UIU friends to support the educational goals of UIU students,” said President Walker, who has led Team Peacock each year and completed every mile of RAGBRAI since 2005. “The ARAMARK gift puts our million dollar goal within reach this year. I know that in the same way that we find that extra kick to take us up the last hill during RAGBRAI, we can find in ourselves the extra momentum to complete this year’s fund drive successfully and meet our goal again.”
Every dollar donated to the Team Peacock Scholarship Fund Drive supports UIU scholarships either short-term or by being invested to guarantee future scholarships, Walker said.
Of the more than $500,000 raised by Team Peacock, more than $120,000 has been paid out in 165 scholarships. The remaining donations have been invested in endowed scholarship funds to earn interest and ensure scholarship money continues to grow and be available to support future students across the University. Donations received by Team Peacock in 2010 will be similarly awarded and invested this spring.
“Upper Iowa University is committed to supporting the educational goals of our students while reducing their debt burden upon graduation,” Walker added. “We are proud that, over its existence, Team Peacock has enabled us to increase our annual student scholarship funding by 780 percent and that our students graduate with less debt than any other private college in Iowa, according to the Iowa Student Aid Commission. We believe in sharing with our students and their families the responsibility of investing in their education.”
For more information about UIU Team Peacock’s Scholarship Fund Drive and its progress toward the million-dollar goal, go to www.uiu.edu/teampeacock.
Watch the Team Peacock Press Conference
Contact:
Monica Bayer Heaton
Executive Director of Communications and Marketing
Phone: 563-425-5773
Cell: 515-291-2070
heatonm@uiu.edu
About Upper Iowa University
Founded in 1857, Upper Iowa University is a private, not-for-profit university providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs and leadership development opportunities to over 6,600 students—nationally and internationally—at its Fayette campus and learning centers worldwide. Upper Iowa University is a recognized innovator in offering accredited, quality programs through flexible, multiple delivery systems, including online and independent study. For more information, visit www.uiu.edu.