By Phil Corso
They are more than halfway to their goal, but members of the Queensborough Community College Fund’s Edge for Success campaign still have a ways to go.
The group launched the public phase of its fund-raising campaign at Douglaston Manor, at 63-20 Marathon Pkwy., to provide students with the resources needed to sustain a college education.
“The mission is to serve both the students and the community,” said Diane B. Call, interim president of the college. “The purpose of launching this fund-raising campaign is to support what we do.”
The foundation has already raised $21 million through what it called a silent campaign, according to Edge for Success Chairwoman Charlene Prounis. The foundation set out to raise $25 million by 2015.
Prounis, a 1976 graduate of QCC, said by providing students with scholarships to stay in school, the investment goes beyond their graduations as they become active members of the community.
“Queensborough Community College helps build the American Dream,” Prounis said.
Dr. Daniel Marcus, who serves on the ACC Fund’s board of directors, said the money raised was well worth the wait and would go toward meaningful programs and projects.
“This money will be put to work,” Marcus said. “It’s a great bargain for one’s fund-raising dollar.”
According to Prounis, Edge for Success exists to provide enriched learning experiences to QCC students through scholarships, allowing them to stay in school and complete their degrees.
“At the end of the day, this money becomes that little dab of grease that makes the wheels continue to roll,” said Mark Kupferberg, chairman of the QCC Fund.
Chika Ugbala received a merit scholarship to study health sciences at the college and said it was crucial to her ability to obtain an education.
“Without this generous scholarship, I could not help others as the college helped me,” Ugbala said.
The campaign also supports faculty research as well as the college’s cultural institutions, such as the Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center, art gallery and performing arts center. The money will also be dispersed throughout the college’s 17 academic departments, the college said.
“I see a great diversity of talent from the students,” said Dr. Arthur Flug, executive director of the college’s Harriet and Kenneth Kupferberg Holocaust Resource Center and Archives.
The students’ scholarships are not given out based on financial need, but on merit, according to QCC Vice President for Institutional Advancement Rosemary Sullivan Zins.
Sullivan Zins said the initial fund-raising campaign started in 1999 through a larger City University of New York campaign and has since raised more than $21 million through private donations. She said the group hoped to collect the remaining $4 million through public donations.
Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
