Konneker Fund to support student success initiative

Ohio University President Emeritus Robert Glidden awards alumnus Wilfred Konneker, BS ’43, MS ’47, HON ’80, the 2003-2004 Founders Citation, the Board of Trustees’ most distinguished honor. Konneker’s vast OHIO legacy includes the establishment of the Konneker Fund for Learning and Discovery. Photo courtesy of University Communications and Marketing

The Ohio University Foundation Board of Trustees has allocated $100,000 from the Konneker Fund for Learning and Discovery to an Ohio University proposal that speaks to the heart of the University’s mission: student success.

The Allen Student Advising Center, created to improve the success and persistence of Ohio University students, will receive $50,000 for the next two years to support its “Critical Interventions to Increase Four-Year Graduation Rates and Close Completion Gaps” proposal.

“Every student we admit, we really hope becomes a graduate of Ohio University,” said Jenny Klein, assistant dean of student persistence and success at the Allen Student Advising Center. “These intervention efforts are a continuation of the good work being done across campus to provide as much assistance as possible to students, so that they can achieve that goal of graduating.”

The proposal includes three elements:

• Catch-up summer scholarships will be offered to students who are behind in credit hours at the end of their first year, providing them funding to complete one additional class over the summer. The scholarships are being created based on research that shows that students who start their sophomore year of college with at least 30 earned credit hours are more likely to be retained and to graduate on time.
• Completion grants will be offered to students who are within 30 credits of graduation but may face a financial barrier that prevents them from finishing their last term or two.
• An awareness campaign directed at students and advisors, emphasizing the importance of taking 15 credit hours per semester in order for students to graduate on time.

Created through a gift from OHIO alumnus Wilfred Konneker, BS ’43, MS ’47, HON ’80, the Konneker Fund for Learning and Discovery supports innovative, high-impact initiatives designed to advance the University’s academic mission.

“I’m really grateful to the Konneker Fund for giving us this opportunity,” Klein said. “One of my favorite things about Ohio University is that I have the chance to make a difference in the lives of students, and this is just one of the many ways that we do that here in the Allen Student Advising Center.”