Lorna Rose pays to attend Syracuse University on her own.

She doesn’t know her mother, and her father was left mentally disabled after a drug overdose eight years ago. She lived with her grandparents until 2007, when they both passed away. Her grandparents left her their house, but she couldn’t afford to keep it.Rose, a sophomore social work major, foots SU’s $45,940 tuition and fees with loans and grant money.

She’s a volunteer for the university’s Syracuse Responds Initiative, a program launched Dec. 5 to raise $2 million by Jan. 31. The $800,000 already raised is paying for 350 students to return to SU this semester – something almost made impossible by the nation’s recession.

If Rose’s financial situation changes, her status as a student could be in jeopardy. She said she would be terrified if she could no longer attend SU, but the economic situation has made it more difficult for her to support herself.

‘If I wasn’t receiving as much aid as I currently am from Syracuse, there is absolutely no way I would be able to attend school here,’ she said. ‘I’m actually paying my rent with my tuition refund, so if I wasn’t able to return to Syracuse, I honestly would have nowhere to go.’

The initiative was created during the last Board of Trustees meeting, when members noticed there was about a 30 percent increase in appeals for financial aid, said Ruth Kaplan, executive director of public affairs and marketing.

The grants allow students to fully participate on campus, said Youlonda Copeland-Morgan, associate vice president for enrollment management and director of scholarships and student aid.

‘When students are facing unusual levels of debt, it distracts from their ability to focus on their studying,’ she said. ‘It reduces the time that they have available to participate in meaningful internships. It lessens the time that they have available to be involved in leadership opportunities on campus.’

Copeland-Morgan, also the chair of the Board of Trustees for the College Board, said universities across the country are responding to financial aid appeals stemming from the economic crisis. But she said SU’s program is unique because there is no similar formal initiative at any other university.

‘A number of colleagues (from other universities) have been very interested in our response,’ she said.

The response is particularly important to Nykeba Corinaldi, who almost could not return to SU this semester. She had been paying for school with a partial scholarship and loans. Now she’s receiving money from the Syracuse Responds Initiative.

Corinaldi’s mother is one of 13 million Americans currently unemployed, according to data from the Labor Department. She lost her job a year and a half ago.

‘I was very distraught,’ said Corinaldi, a sophomore international relations major. ‘Education is something that’s really important to me. You can’t really further yourself without an education.’

Corinaldi would have been able to afford to transfer to a university in her home state of Maryland, but she said SU was the best place for her.

‘I love the pride, I love the faculty that the school has, all the different opportunities, the study abroad programs,’ she said.

Knowing that she could no longer afford the bill, Corinaldi sought help from the financial aid office.

Brian Sischo, associate vice president of development, said the university has been able to raise the money in such a short time period through the heavy use of electronic communication. This is the most SU has ever relied on the Internet for fundraising.

‘We wanted to get the word out as quickly as possible, and be mindful of the costs that come along with fund raising efforts,’ he said.

Sischo added that what is unusual about this initiative is that about 20 percent of the donors are graduates of less than 10 years.

‘We tried to identify those alumni that have graduated in more recent years, knowing that they would have perhaps a better appreciation for the challenges that today’s students face,’ he said.

This campaign has also seen different demographics than average university fundraisers, Sischo said. Fifteen percent are parents of current students, and 12 percent are employees of the university.

Copeland-Morgan said because of this effort she believes every student returning to campus will be able to stay, regardless of financial situation.

She noted that the need will continue to grow and that she expects to see more students seeking aid during the registration period. In the past, SU’s most limited financial aid resource has been grants. But Syracuse Responds has changed that, she said.

‘I’m feeling confident about our ability to help students, and no student should be leaving the institution because of finances.’

rhkheel@syr.edu

Published on January 12, 2009 at 12:00 pm