2001
The Voice: Fall 2001
Notes from the development office
Dave Vander Werf
International Student Aid Fund
Dordt College currently enrolls
thirty-two international students from seventeen countries outside of Canada and the United States
on our campus. These students became aware of Dordt College in a variety
of ways and are glad to be a part of the Dordt community.
And we appreciate the contribution they make to campus life.
Many of these international students come to campus with financial needs beyond those
of most traditional students. This year their financial need has been greater than
in the past, and we are asking supporters to consider a gift to
the International Student Aid Fund to assist these students.
Gifts to the International Student Aid Fund are applied to the tuition accounts
of international students, freeing up their limited resources for other needed items like
toiletries and adequate clothing for our climate. To help support international students on
our campus contact our office at 712-722-6020 or make checks to:
International Student Aid Fund
Dordt College
498 4th Ave NE
Sioux Center, IA 51250
Dordt receives large bequest
In July of this year, Dordt College was the recipient of the largest
bequest in the
history of the college. The bequest came from the estate of Dick H.
and Anna Grussing of Raymond, Minnesota, and totaled over $638,000.
Dick and Anna Grussing were engaged in farming and real estate for many
years. The Grussings had no children and had been faithful supporters of the college. They appreciated members of the Dordt College faculty
who periodically preached and the student groups who sang in their church. According
to the couple’s attorney, Dean Anderson, “The Grussings were impressed with the mission
of Dordt College, continued to identify with the direction of the college, and
were pleased to support it.
At Dordt College we are humbled to receive a gift of this magnitude.
Gifts such as these become part of our endowment, provide the college with
greater flexibility in program offerings, and help to ensure a quality education. It
is encouraging to know others are silently observing our efforts and reaffirming their
support of the college through their estate plans.
We encourage you to remember Dordt College in your estate plan. Gifts of
all sizes are appreciated and have a positive impact on our endowment. Some
of our supporters have the ability to make a major impact with gifts
from their estates, and we would be happy to provide assistance in directing
these gifts.
If you have already remembered Dordt College in your estate, please contact us.
We would like to include you as a member of our Heritage Society.
Heritage Society members receive quarterly issues of the Steward (a tax and financial
advice publication), a collector’s edition vase made by Jake Van Wyk, birthday cards,
and the satisfaction of benefiting Christian higher education. Consider the benefits, and contact
our office to join at 712-722-6020.
Changes to Endowment Scholarship Program
Changes have gone into effect this year to make Dordt’s scholarship program more
effective. Beginning with this fiscal year, the amount required to endow a scholarship
has been increased from $10,000 to $15,000. The adjustment was made to allow
the college to increase the amount awarded, making our scholarship program more attractive
and effective.
With the increased start-up amount, the college will be able to award five
percent of the scholarship balance annually. The change means we will be able
to make larger awards and still let the scholarship grow substantially to better
keep pace with tuition increases. We plan to review the amount needed to
endow a scholarship at the end of our fiscal year to determine whether
it should be raised even higher.
The decision to increase the start-up endowment came after a study of amounts
that similar institutions award. We decided to make substantial changes already this year
so that we can offer substantial scholarships to attract and retain quality students.
We encourage you to consider endowing a scholarship to be awarded to a
deserving Dordt College student.
Judy Hagey
Director of Church Relations
Some of the most important lessons college students learn happen outside
of the classroom as they learn to live in covenant community. Even though
the college campus seems removed from the “real world,” this faith community faces
the same challenges as other believers. Learning “to act justly, love mercy, and
walk humbly with God” is as much a part of a Dordt education
as accumulating enough credits to earn a degree. As we encourage, challenge, and
hold each other accountable, we build community.
Dordt is blessed to be part of a larger faith community, made up
of individuals and churches who encourage us with their prayers and support
us with their gifts. In the fiscal year completed June 30, 2001, gifts
from our supporting church community reached an all-time high of $787,902, a nearly
fifteen percent increase over the previous year. We are grateful for such tangible evidence of your support. Our prayer is that the worldwide community of
believers is strengthened as we continue to work and learn in covenant community
at Dordt.
