Walker Scholarship First to Earn Batten Match

It is altogether fitting that a new scholarship honoring Katherine Fralin Walker is the first to qualify for a pledged $5 million challenge grant from Jane Parke Batten '58. Walker is the founding director of the Batten Leadership Institute established by Batten and her late husband, Frank.

The Katherine Fralin Walker Leadership Scholarship is funded through gifts from Walker's parents-in-law, John and Mary Louise Walker Burress of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and her father, W. Heywood Fralin of Roanoke. Its purpose is to provide recognition and financial assistance to a student with demonstrated leadership potential and promise who pursues the Certificate in Leadership Studies program after completing the Batten Leadership Institute’s standard skills course.

Walker was given the Hollins Medal at Commencement 2010 in recognition of her work in developing the Batten Leadership Institute into one of the country’s premier leadership training programs for women. Under her leadership, the institute has grown from 12 students beginning in the fall of 2002 to 93 students who have now graduated from the program.

Walker's service to Hollins also recognized a need for leadership development in the community at large and helped expand the institute’s reach in 2006 to include local businesses and organizations. Women in the Roanoke area and beyond now can receive innovative training opportunities through the institute’s year-long Certificate in Professional Leadership program. To date, more than 60 women have grown personally and brought important new skills to the workplace as a result of this experience.

Little White Cottage Goes Green

Thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous alumna, Hollins has renovated the Robbie Hunt Burton Alumnae Cottage with the hope of earning certification by the U.S. Green Building Council under their Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building program. If successful, the cottage, built in 1905, will become Hollins’ first LEED certified building.

The cottage, which has been in dire need of repairs for several years, features the first geothermal heating and cooling system on campus, low-maintenance building materials, many with recycled content, and high-energy efficient appliances.

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Paris Abroad Directorship Endowed With $1 Million Gift

"I gained my best friends in life while I was studying abroad," says Jeannie Hall Rutherfoord '74, a member of Hollins' Board of Trustees. The lifelong impact of her semester overseas inspired Rutherfoord and her husband, Thomas, to give $1 million in support of Hollins' study abroad program in Paris. This endowed fund will pay the salary and benefits for what will now be called the Rutherfoord Director of the Hollins Abroad–Paris program.

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Spickard

Rolen

Employees Leave Legacies for Hollins

The late Madaline "Dick" Spickard and Tina Rolen have shown their affection for Hollins by generously providing gifts for the university in their estate plans.

Dick Spickard developed many close friendships with professors and students during her forty-eight years at Hollins. She held various positions during that time, most recently serving as the beloved administrative assistant in the humanities department. It wasn't until after she died that Hollins learned how much these friendships meant to her. Spickard died in January 2009, a month after being stricken while at work, at the age of ninety. Hollins received a $10,000 bequest from Spickard's estate, to support the Alvord Miner Beardslee Endowed Fund and the Sue Zirkle Frazier M.A.L.S. Scholarship.

Tina Rolen, who served Hollins with distinction as director of the Career Center, died in December 2009 after a lengthy illness. Rolen had found her life's work helping students and adults discover and achieve their educational and vocational goals. Rolen's wisdom and compassion left a lasting impact on the campus community, and Hollins students will continue to benefit from her generosity. A $7,000 bequest will provide student internship stipends and video-conferencing equipment for the Career Center. Virtual interviewing is a growing method for hiring managers to get to know applicants. Making internships affordable and offering video conferencing will enhance many students' career searches.

$5 Million Batten Challenge for Scholarships, Leadership

Hollins has accepted a challenge from philanthropist and alumna Jane Parke Batten '58 of Norfolk to raise $5 million by December 2013 in order to receive a matching grant of the same amount. Successfully meeting the challenge will enhance the funding of scholarships for students who wish to attend Hollins and participate in the university's Batten Leadership Institute; scholarships for current Hollins students who want to earn a Certificate in Leadership Studies; and scholarships for other deserving students.

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EMILY's List Founder Endows Scholarship

Ellen Malcolm '69, founder of EMILY's List, a national organization that recruits and funds viable women political candidates, has made a substantial pledge to establish the Morning Star Scholarship for undergraduate students raised by single parents. The scholarship will be available beginning in fall 2010. In explaining her reason for establishing the scholarship, Malcolm said, "Today there are many families headed by single parents. They have the same dreams for their daughters but often half the income. I hope this fund will help these girls afford the first-class education that Hollins provides."

Malcolm, who was awarded the Hollins Distinguished Alumnae Award at her fortieth Hollins reunion, delivered the Founder's Day address in 2010. She graduated from Hollins with a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and received a master of business administration degree from George Washington University. Hollins awarded her an honorary doctor of humane letters degree in 1992.

Alumna Gift Names the Chapel Lawn

The lawn in front of the Jesse Ball duPont Chapel has a name now: the Helen Moncure Dillon Lawn. A plaque placed on the lawn recognizes Mrs. Dillon of Roanoke, a member of the Class of 1952, for her generosity in making a gift to establish two endowments – one to support general campus landscaping and one to help fund the First-Year Experience program. Mrs. Dillon was guided in making her gifts by her son, Stuart Dillon of Roanoke, who shared with her how much joy he derives from supporting his alma mater, Virginia Tech. Both of Mrs. Dillon's gifts support priorities of the Campaign for Women Who Are Going Places.

Tribute to Louis D. Rubin, Jr.

Some of the best writers in the country gathered at Hollins in early November 2009 to honor their former teacher and mentor Louis D. Rubin, Jr. and celebrate fifty years of the creative writing graduate program he founded at Hollins.

Rubin was lured to Hollins by an invitation to celebrate the program's anniversary; however, once the evening's festivities got under way in the Botetourt Reading Room, the deeper meaning of the gathering was revealed. Creative writing alumni, Hollins trustees, the English and creative writing staff, and friends were there to pay homage to Rubin and his successors, especially John Rees Moore and Richard Dillard.

Trustee Wyndham Robertson '58, who claims to have been Rubin's first student, showered confetti on Rubin and announced that those in the room and many others had responded to a fund-raising appeal from Lee Smith '67 and Shannon Ravenel '60 to raise $100,000 to endow The Hollins Critic and name a seminar room in Swannanoa Hall, home of the creative program, in Rubin's honor. Thanks to lead donors Ted and Carol Bayne Price '66 and the other donors, the effort was a great success, with more than $146,000 contributed. In addition to naming the room and endowing the Critic, the gift also funded creation of a wall on the first floor of Swannanoa Hall, which lists all the Hollins writers-in-residence, who since 2000 have been known as the Louis D. Rubin, Jr. Writers-in-Residence.

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Second Endowed Scholarship from Betty Stall

Elizabeth "Betty" Peace Stall '53, a former Hollins trustee from Greenville, South Carolina, believes in scholarships and in giving back to her college. For the second time she has put her money where her convictions are and established a scholarship for students wishing to attend Hollins. The Elizabeth Peace Stall Endowed Scholarship is secured with a five-year, $500,000 campaign pledge.

The Stall Scholarship is completely open and may be awarded on the basis of financial need, merit, or both to a student of any discipline. During the previous campaign (1992-1997) Stall established the Frances Peace Graham '36 Scholarship, in honor of her aunt, to provide need-based financial aid to students with community service experience and a strong potential to contribute to Hollins' student service programs.

In explaining why she started the new scholarship, Stall said, "Hollins shaped my life and opened doors inviting my mind to explore. I want other young women to have the same opportunities for growth and self discovery. Especially in these times they need help to do that."

Stall served ten years as a Hollins trustee and was awarded the Hollins Medal in 2005, for her financial generosity and volunteer support to Hollins and her community.

Belk Challenge for International Scholars Endowment

For the second time in the past sixteen months, Hollins has officially met and exceeded a challenge from the John M. Belk Educational Endowment to raise $500,000 to receive a matching grant of the same amount. The grant and matching funds will support the Claudia Watkins Belk International Scholars Endowment, which offers deserving Hollins students the chance to study abroad for a semester or a year, participate in an international experience during the university's January Short Term, or engage in community service or career internship placements abroad.

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Theatre Renovation Thanks to McDonnell Family

Hollins is embarking on a comprehensive renovation of its theatre, thanks to a $3 million commitment from the James S. McDonnell Family Foundation. Hollins will receive $1 million annually from the foundation over the next three years, beginning in 2009.

Based in Lincoln, Massachusetts, the James S. McDonnell Family Foundation is named for the noted aviation pioneer and founder of McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, which later became McDonnell Douglas Corporation. The organization's mission is to support scientific, educational, and charitable causes locally, nationally, and internationally. McDonnell’s daughter-in-law, Elizabeth Hall McDonnell, is a member of Hollins' Class of 1962 and currently serves on the university's Board of Trustees. Her husband, James S. McDonnell III, is a member of the foundation's Board of Directors.

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A Texas Sized Challenge to Hollins Alumnae and Friends

Texas philanthropist and Hollins son and grandson Robert Priddy of Wichita Falls has issued a challenge to all Texas alumnae, graduate alumni, current and past parents, and friends to raise $100,000 in new gifts to the Hollins Fund by December 31, 2010.  If we are successful, Mr. Priddy will match that amount, dollar for dollar, up to $100,000.

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