Insight Influences Charitable Choice

Few people understand the value of higher education and the issues today's universities face better than James McCormick '59.

Dr. McCormick's career has taken him from the classroom to serving as president of Bloomsburg University, then the first chancellor of Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education, then chancellor of the Minnesota State University System.

Today, he continues to serve the field as a consultant for AGB Search, which helps to place new leaders in colleges and universities across the country.

"We've seen a reversal of funding. It used to be that states funded public universities with 70 percent of the budget, and 30 percent came from tuition income. These days, it's the other way around, with 30 percent from states and 70 percent from students," he says. "Even kids from middle-class families now need help in pulling together the funding. The statistics are clear. Student debt can delay a young graduate's life. Student debt can ruin a life."

Dr. McCormick, along with his wife, Maryan, has chosen to invest in IUP, the place where his long association with higher education began, through a charitable gift annuity. The gift annuity provides annual, fixed payments to the McCormicks during their lifetimes plus other benefits.

The Foundation for IUP will receive an unrestricted charitable gift after their lifetimes. The university will use their gift where it is needed most. That might be for scholarships for students, to help defray a study abroad experience, research expenses, or other programs that enhance students' success.

Investing in higher education, to the McCormicks, is incredibly important. From Dr. McCormick's vantage point, enrollment and finances are what most plague universities across the country. In particular, student debt is of greatest concern.

"I cannot see a better way to secure the future of the United States of America than to invest in our greatest resource, our students."

Invest in the Future

To learn how you can make a gift that benefits you and supports IUP students, contact Indiana University of Pennsylvania at 724-357-5661 or university-advancement@iup.edu.