University of Toledo President Sharon Gaber touted recent achievements — from growing enrollment to doubling the alumni giving rate — at a Rotary Club of Toledo meeting Monday.
Ms. Gaber is approaching the end of her second year as president, and she provided an update on UT’s progress during that time to about 200 Rotarians while they lunched at the Park Inn in downtown Toledo.
“A great institution does require engagement from people not only on campus but people in the community,” she said. “We ask you to think about sharing our good news. We ask you to think about internships, co-ops, hiring UT grads. We ask you to become involved with advisory boards, special projects, events.”
Ms. Gaber offered some statistics aimed at encouraging the business crowd — scores of whom indicated they are UT alumni — to become more involved.
She said she expects enrollment to increase again in the fall, continuing a positive ascent that began last year after five straight years of student decline. The fall 2016 enrollment was 20,648 students, up modestly from 20,381 the year before.
She also reported the alumni giving rate has doubled in the last 23 months.
The percent of undergraduate alumni who gave to UT has gone from 2.59 percent in 2014-15 to 5.25 percent in 2015-16, according to UT spokesman Christine Billau.
Ms. Gaber told Rotarians that UT still has “work to do” to improve alumni giving, and said she’s visited nearly 20 cities across the country since becoming president to meet with alumni.
How many alumni donate to their alma mater is among the factors U.S. News & World Report considers when determining its ranking of universities. UT is currently unranked by the influential publication, though Ms. Gaber wants to bring more national recognition to the school.
She also pointed to other successes, from boosting the number of medical students who stay in Toledo to complete residencies to requiring more undergraduates to live on campus in an effort to improve student retention and campus life.
Ms. Gaber was introduced by UT trustee Mary Ellen Pisanelli, recently nominated by a board committee to become the Board of Trustees’ next vice chairman.
“Under her leadership the university has achieved remarkable progress over the last 23 months,” Ms. Pisanelli said.
Contact Vanessa McCray at: vmccray@theblade.com or 419-724-6065, or on Twitter @vanmccray.
First Published May 9, 2017, 4:00 a.m.
