Philosophy of philanthropy
Since College of Engineering Dean Ayanna Howard began her tenure on March 1, a flood of kind notes and emails provided an early indication of just how passionate Ohio State alumni and donors are. She also has witnessed the power of philanthropy during her walks around campus, including the newly renovated Mars G. Fontana Laboratories and outdoor meetings with scholarship students.
We had a chance to chat with Dean Howard about the impact of philanthropy in higher education.
FORWARD: You were a professor, researcher and school chair at Georgia Tech. During your time there, did you experience the impact of philanthropy?
Dean Howard: Yes, one example comes to mind quickly. Many universities talk about entrepreneurship and innovation for their students, but often it’s not part of the curriculum or supported by adequate resources. Generous donors at Georgia Tech allowed a program to be born that instills entrepreneurial confidence in students and empowers them to launch startups. It’s called CREATE-X. Students receive credit hours while starting companies. Since it launched, some of the student startups have earned series A round funding from investors and are well on their way to commercialization. This is a case of someone saying, “I believe in entrepreneurship and that a university is an ideal place to develop those skills,” and then making a gift to support that notion. I’d like to start a similar concept here.
And in my short time at Ohio State, I have been wowed by gifts designated toward diversity, equity and inclusion, particularly to programs that benefit our students. What is especially inspiring is that most of the donors are not members of an underrepresented group themselves, which means they understand the value of community and inclusiveness.
FORWARD: While in-person meetings have been a challenge in 2021, you have enjoyed phone and video calls with dozens of alumni donors. Any takeaways or first impressions from those conversations?
Dean Howard: Every single alumnus I’ve had the pleasure to speak with is committed to the success of Ohio State, of the College of Engineering, and often the department from which they received their degree. Certainly, it’s a financial commitment, but it’s also an investment of time, which is extremely valuable for these individuals. So many of them leverage their personal cache, their networks, creativity and influence to enhance what we do in the College of Engineering. All of us here appreciate them so much.
And I often hear, especially from donors that support scholarships, how much they enjoy meeting our students. One long-time donor told me that she keeps in touch with many recipients of the scholarship she started, years after they graduated. I love that!
FORWARD: In a summer email to alums and in a recent webinar, you’ve shared that your initial focus areas are increasing access and enrollment; diversity, inclusion and belonging; and innovation and entrepreneurship. How can philanthropy impact these priorities?
Dean Howard: We’ve launched several pilot programs that directly benefit students, and philanthropic support would help these programs make a real difference. One is LEGACY, which stands for Leading Engineering as Agents of Change and Equity. It’s a postdoc scholars program that aims to increase the number of underrepresented minority postdocs who transition to faculty positions within the college. It will include quality mentoring relationships, enhancing research opportunities, and building strong scholarly communities.
Another is a summer program where we’ll partner with local companies to provide hands-on internships for rising sophomores and juniors, early in their educational path. It’s a win-win. It allows students to understand the importance of their education and their potential impact, and it enables companies to engage with our brilliant students a year or two before they enter a competitive job market.
We also are creating a bootcamp of sorts for our graduate students to help them understand societal impacts and implications of their research. For example, if your research is related to a medical device, you need real-world input from patients and from clinicians. I think corporate research partners will be interested in this program as well.
FORWARD: In what other ways can corporate philanthropy help the college?
Dean Howard: Corporate philanthropy can definitely help us, but it helps them a lot too. Talent is so important to successful companies, especially those in technology-intensive markets. Ohio State Engineering is a talent engine—engineers, computer scientists, architects, aviation pros, city planners, you name it. When companies support us philanthropically, it signifies that they are a partner in our success. And that they’re interested in engaging with our students and graduates who are the next generation of the talent they need.
