Dear Alumni,
We hope you and your families are doing well. Our team in the Office of Multicultural Advancement, as well as the greater Orange family, is thinking of you during this very challenging time.
This has been an unpredictable year for all of us, including our students. Following the close of campus in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students are now back and grateful that our campus safely opened in August, with significant protocols in place.
Since the spring, our students have experienced significant uncertainty. The disproportionate financial impact of the pandemic on communities of color, unrest following the death of George Floyd and others, the loss of internships and study abroad opportunities, and the passing of loved ones due to the coronavirus are all things weighing on students’ minds.
Now more than ever, it’s important that we support students and do what we can to remove financial burdens from their long list of worries.
The Our Time Has Come (OTHC) Scholarship Program has been providing scholarships and support for underrepresented students at Syracuse University for over 30 years. We’ve awarded over 1,500 scholarships to students with an unmet financial need, and the program has boasted a 100 percent graduation rate since its inception in 1987.
But we can assist so many more students with your help. If you are able, please make a donation to the OTHC Scholarship during Boost the ’Cuse, Syracuse University’s day of giving, on October 1. Our goal for Boost the ’Cuse is 90 donations of any size. In particular, we’d appreciate your consideration of several OTHC funds recognizing the need for social justice—including the OTHC Kevin Richardson (Exonerated Five) Scholarship, the OTHC Syracuse 8 Scholarship, and the OTHC Syracuse Black Law Alumni Collective Scholarship as well as the OTHC Black and Hispanic Undergraduate Scholarship. The full amount of your donation goes directly to the scholarship fund of your choice.
On behalf of our students, thank you for your generosity and support in this critical moment.
P.S. We look forward in seeing you at Virtual CBT on October 16.
With gratitude,
Rachel Vassel ’91
Assistant Vice President
Office of Multicultural Advancement