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CIC RECEIVES GRANT
FROM HEARST FOUNDATION

Funding Will Support Strategic Planning Efforts

WASHINGTON, DC – The Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the William Randolph Hearst Foundations, Inc., a long-standing supporter of CIC and its member institutions, toward costs of developing a strategic plan that will strengthen CIC as an organization and address the key issues facing private colleges and universities.

“We are delighted that the Hearst Foundation’s grant will help CIC undertake a comprehensive planning process,” said CIC President Richard Ekman. “There is so much that could be done to assist colleges and universities to address the key challenges they face—issues such as leadership, technology, understanding costs, developing partnerships, and reinforcing the distinctive educational role of small and medium-sized private institutions,” he said.

The initial activity in the strategic planning effort over the next year will be a series of more than 20 roundtable discussions on college campuses throughout the country, including as participants presidents and chief academic officers in each region. The discussions will take stock of issues facing independent higher education in America, assess the effectiveness of CIC programs and activities, and gauge CIC’s current and prospective role as a national voice for independent higher education, among other issues.

In addition to support for strategic planning, CIC will use grant funds to strengthen its capacity to offer distinctive opportunities for private higher education leaders to participate in activities. CIC will strengthen current program offerings; expand those programs to reach more presidents, other administrators, faculty members, and trustees; and develop new programs aimed to enhance the ability of independent colleges and universities to share effective practices.

“Our Foundations have established Hearst Endowed Scholarships at an impressive number of CIC member colleges. This grant will enhance the ability of CIC to better serve these and all member colleges and universities,” said Robert M. Frehse, Jr., Executive Director of the William Randolph Hearst Foundations. The Foundations, established in the mid 1940s by publisher and philanthropist William Randolph Hearst, are private philanthropies dedicated to education, health, human services, and culture.

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