| 2003-04 Recipient
Mary Collis Hancock
Distinguished Alumni Awards Banquet 2004 - Recipient Speech
It has been rewarding to see the school grow from fewer than
200 students to the 640 of today, all the time maintaining
the highest quality education in the area. I have seen the
school become a true campus instead of a single building.
The fact is that when the school grows so
must the endowment. Many things are made possible by an adequate
endowment, an outstanding faculty that we certainly have,
scholarships that are essential to a challenging school community,
and the ability to help realize a dream seen in the wonderful
new high school building on Grinstead Drive. The latter can
be partially attributed to our endowment as well as the successful
results of the Capital Fund Drive.
So to my point. Alumni are the best vehicle
to help increase the endowment per student to the amount that
NAIS recommends, which is $20,000 per student for day schools.
There are many ways to reach this goal, specify a percentage
of all capital campaign dollars go to the endowment and require
that 25 percent of new building price tag include endowing
its operation. Best of all, in my opinion, is to keep the
alumni involved in the school and conscious of their responsibility
to Collegiate. All of us here are the past of this school
and in many ways and the present, but most importantly the
future of Collegiate. The school was here when each of us
needed it. Let's make sure it is here for future generations."
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