The Case to Enhance Student Resources and Support
We believe in the inherent value of a Juniata education and its exceptional power, and that our plan to strengthen the ability to deliver on our mission is worthy of your support.
We have always held our focus on students and what it takes to provide the necessary challenge and experiences to prepare them for pursuing not only an education, but preparation for a meaningful life. In this campaign, we will increase our ability to make the wondrous opportunity of a Juniata education available to all with the drive and potential to make the most of it while strengthening the quality and sustainability of education opportunities that resonate with Juniata’s mission.
For our entire history, Juniata has committed to keeping our educational offerings affordable for those with the talent and drive to succeed here. Courage to Act, the strategic plan for Juniata, states goals for student support from a programmatic standpoint—improving advising, creating Centers for Undergraduate Research and Service Learning, establishing co-curricular goals, and more. But endowed support for summer research, internships, international programs, study abroad, and scholarships must continue to grow to ensure students can make the most of the opportunities here.
Student support typically is seen typically as a means of ensuring affordability. Affordability at Juniata, where we place a premium on learning by experience, extends beyond simply offsetting the costs of tuition. Endowments exist to provide financial support for students to take internships in lieu of a summer job, making up for the lost revenue they would have made to help with college expenses. Student research with faculty may demand staying on campus for the summer, or in a lab or in the field elsewhere, something which is financially challenging without support. Finally, international study—now a hallmark of the Juniata experience—often is most transformative often for those who can least afford it. Providing support for the plane ticket to one of our partner institutions around the globe can help a student make the most of what Juniata offers.
Student resources and support must ensure students can afford to make the most of the array of experiences Juniata offers.
| Giving Opportunities to Support Students | |
| Endowed Scholarship | $50,000 |
| Support an Internship or International Study Endowment | $100,000 |
| Provide Summer Research Funding or Service Projects | $250,000 |
| Support existing endowments for any of the above with a gift of any size. | |
| Unrestricted gifts help with any endeavor. | |
Through raising endowment resources for student affordability, those who support this campaign will provide a permanent and growing source of funding that will complement the operational budget for scholarships and learning experiences. Scholarships help students afford the cost of earning their degrees. Ensuring students can make the most of their time at Juniata means better outcomes for students, greater loyalty to Juniata over time, a stronger reputation, and increased value for everyone holding a Juniata degree. But most importantly, supporting students means investing in creativity, knowledge, and the future in ways that will build on what Juniata graduates have done for more than a century. Gifts in support of students are fundamental to Juniata delivering on its mission and its promise.
Roughly half of all Juniata students study away while earning their degrees. Students who do so cite it as one of the most transformational experiences in their educational journey. Endowment exist and can be created to defray costs associated with travel, international programs, and support for special class experiences that involve short-term abroad experiences.
More than three-quarters of Juniata students take an internship while earning their degrees; many take more than one. In today’s job market, internship experience is necessary to be competitive. Internships also help students taste a chosen career path early enough that if they change their mind due to the experience, they have time to shape their path before graduating. Gifts in support of internship endowments help defray costs that sometimes can stand in the way of a student being able to take an internship in a high-cost area (such as New York City or San Francisco) or replace the funding necessary that they have to earn in a summer job.
Juniata students partner with more than 20 community agencies in the county, including the Huntingdon Community Center, the humane society, the historical society, and Big Brothers Big Sisters, to name but a few. Though local service is an integral part of the student experience, their community engagement work reaches beyond the town of Huntingdon, impacting the broader central Pennsylvania region, locations around the United States, and other countries
Student reflection makes the community-engaged learning experience substantial, and the effects can be profound, both in building experience and in building character.
Whether in history and anthropology, biology and chemistry, or theatre and museum studies, our students choose Juniata because they know our size and access to faculty will provide them the chance to work on new knowledge with professional scholars. Our students who have these experiences gain entrance to top graduate and professional schools, find employment swiftly, earn post-graduate honors including Fulbright and Goldwater Fellowships, and, perhaps most importantly, leave Juniata having challenged themselves in the pursuit of knowledge alongside a mentor who will push them to gain not just skills and knowledge but perspective, resilience, and creativity.
