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CIC PRESIDENTS PRESENT
TOP 2004 ANNUAL AWARDS

SAN DIEGO, CA – The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) today announced the three winners in 2004 of its top annual awards. Elizabeth McCormack and Jerome I. Aron were selected to receive the Allen P. Splete Award for Outstanding Service, while philanthropists Stanley M. and Helen Jensen Howe and Scholarship America have earned CIC’s Awards for Philanthropy. The awards were presented at CIC's Awards Banquet during the annual Presidents Institute, held at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, CA on Tuesday, January 6.

The Allen P. Splete Award for Outstanding Service is given to an individual, publication, or organization for significant contributions to independent higher education. The award recognizes national leadership, through ideas and commitment, on behalf of private colleges and universities. The award was named in honor of the retired president of CIC, who served from 1985 to 2000.

Elizabeth McCormack is a Renaissance woman and a visionary who through her expertise, commitment, and far-reaching interests has touched many lives in the worlds of education, philanthropy, medicine, the arts, and foreign affairs. Education has been at the heart of her career, including a doctorate from Fordham University, service as headmistress of the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Greenwich, Connecticut, and the presidency of Manhattanville College (where she was also an undergraduate).

“CIC’s recognition of Ms. McCormack is based on her standing as one of the most influential women in American philanthropy,” said CIC President Richard Ekman in presenting the awards. He noted that she is deputy chair of the board of The Atlantic Philanthropies, has served as vice chair of the board of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, is a philanthropic advisor to the Rockefeller Family and Associates, and was assistant to the president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Her husband, Jerome "Jerry" Aron, now retired, is the former Treasurer of Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY, and has been a member of the Marlboro College (Vermont) board of trustees since August 1988. “Through these relationships, Elizabeth and Jerry have played a key role in a large number of important grants to higher education. Those who know them say they love small colleges and especially liberal arts colleges,” Ekman said.

The Award for Philanthropy, presented to Stanley M. Howe and his wife, Helen Jensen Howe, celebrates individuals who contribute volunteer service or financial support to independent colleges and universities. It honors those individuals who, by their example, provide a beacon for others to follow.

The Howes are philanthropists from Muscatine, Iowa. Stanley Howe’s exemplary activity on the board of the Iowa College Foundation since the 1970s has played a major part in enhancing private higher education across the state. In addition, as a trustee of the HON Industries Charitable Foundation, Howe has approved contributions to St. Ambrose University, Iowa Wesleyan College, and Mt. Holyoke College, all CIC member institutions. Helen Howe is known as a powerful partner with Stan in their philanthropic support and volunteer activity on behalf of independent colleges in Iowa. Ekman noted that “their efforts on behalf of Iowa Wesleyan have served as a springboard for several decades of leadership throughout the state of Iowa. Their leadership has been credited with setting an example for many donors, resulting in significant fundraising gains for the institutions they have supported.”

Stan Howe graduated from the Harvard Business School in 1948 and returned to Iowa where he joined a small company named Home-O-Nize, which eventually became HON Industries. Today, HON Industries is the second largest manufacturer of office furniture in the United States. Only the 21st employee when he was hired in March 1948, Stan remained with the company, progressing to VP of Production, Executive VP, President, CEO and Board Chairman, until he retired as Chairman Emeritus in March 1998. Helen went to Iowa State and stayed for two years, then taught grade school for six years, one in Muscatine, where she met her husband. The couple married and reared four children. Helen completed her Bachelor of Arts degree at Iowa Wesleyan College in 1981, the same year their youngest son graduated from high school. She has been active as a volunteer in local organizations and her church and currently serves on the boards of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association, the Muscatine Welfare Association, and the Muscatine Community College Foundation.

The other winner of the Award for Philanthropy, which celebrates a foundation or corporation that has demonstrated leadership and vision in improving higher education, is Scholarship America. Founded in 1961 as Citizens’ Scholarship Foundation of America, Scholarship America is the nation’s largest private sector scholarship and educational support organization. Its mission is to expand access to educational opportunities by involving and assisting communities, corporations, foundations, organizations, and individuals in the support of students and in the encouragement of educational achievement.

Its Dollars for Scholars program is a national network of more than 1,170 community-based affiliates that raise scholarship funds for local students as well as provide mentoring, tutoring, and assistance in finding financial aid. Scholarship America also manages scholarship and tuition reimbursement programs for more than 950 corporations and other organizations and offers modules to help prospective students and parents learn about postsecondary education options. During its 45 years, it has distributed more than $1 billion to nearly one million students.

“Scholarship America is widely respected for its contributions to society through its work in higher education,” Ekman said, noting that while about 20 percent of America’s students attend private postsecondary institutions, approximately 35 to 40 percent annually of the scholarship funding from Scholarship America supports students choosing to attend private colleges and universities. “This amount is increasing--particularly for CIC member institutions. In academic year 1996-97, $5.8 million in scholarship awards went to CIC members, and in 2001-2002 the total had climbed to $12.7 million,” Ekman said.

In addition, he noted that Scholarship America’s president is a special friend of private colleges. William Nelsen, formerly president of Augustana College (SD) and chief academic officer at Saint Olaf College (MN), served on the board of the Consortium for the Advancement of Private Higher Education when it joined CIC in 1993, and later on the CIC Board of Directors.

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The Council of Independent Colleges is an association of 530 independent, liberal arts colleges and universities and higher education affiliates and organizations that work together to strengthen college and university leadership, sustain high-quality education, and enhance private higher education’s contributions to society. To fulfill this mission, CIC provides its members with skills, tools, and knowledge that address aspects of leadership, financial management and performance, academic quality, and institutional visibility. The Council is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.

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