Published: June 26, 2009 09:59 am      

Central College Student Senate gives back $15,000

Central College Student Senate voted unanimously to give $15,000 back to the college as a one-time gift in light of the extraordinary economic circumstances this year.

The students felt the decision to give back to the college was an easy one to make.

“It is our hope that this gift will help maintain the Central College that alumni know, current students enjoy and prospective students will come to love,” wrote student body president senior Tyler Schipper from Ankeny in an e-mail to Central’s budget committee. “We hope it can be used to lessen the depth of cuts next year and place Central in a better financial situation moving forward.”

No precedent was set for the gift, so the college decided to put the money toward the Central Fund, which supports the day-to-day operations of the college.

“It is often said that college students are in a bubble and not concerned with the goings on of the real world until they graduate. That cannot be said of our students; this was a ‘big picture’ decision,” said Kathy Cashen Thompson, director of the Central Fund. “The beauty of money going into the Central Fund is that everyone on campus will be touched by the generosity of this gift.”

The funding of the gift will be drawn from the senate’s capital expenditures account. The student senate has authorized for the funds to be withdrawn for the next fiscal year without any stipulations as to its use.

Central College is a private, coeducational, four-year, residential liberal arts college in Pella, Iowa, offering 38 majors along with pre-professional programs and advising. Central was recognized in the 2009 U.S.News & World Report’s annual rankings of the best liberal arts colleges in the nation. Central’s study abroad program was included in the programs to look for section.