Three employees lend voices to faculty and staff fundraising campaign

Rutgers faculty and staff members are perhaps in the best position to identify the need for monetary support for students. To that end, the Rutgers University Foundation is asking employees to reach into their pockets to support students and the university.

The foundation will send letters next month to faculty and staff members who have not given before during the Rutgers Faculty/Staff Campaign. Three employees – one for each campus – have agreed to serve as chairs in the campaign.

“As active members of the Rutgers community, faculty and staff have a vested interest not only in the well being of Rutgers but also in the students that surround them,” said Rajini Punnoose, associate director of annual giving for the foundation and coordinator of the faculty and staff campaign.

This year’s campaign’s priorities are supporting scholarships and fellowships, as well as finding general money to help recruit and retain best and brightest students; recruit and retain top notch faculty; enable students and faculty to conduct cutting-edge research; provide state-of-the-art learning resources; and enrich the campus and community.

The faculty/staff campaign has been in place since 1999 and to date has raised nearly $600,000; however, faculty and staff members have given millions more in general gifts and during capital campaigns.

Gifts can be made via payroll deduction; to do so, email therutgersfund@winants.rutgers.edu. Gifts can also be made by visiting the foundation website.

Camden: Tom Venables

“People will say to an employee like myself: Why are you giving anything back? Aren’t they supposed to pay us for our time?” Venables said. “A lot of faculty and staff look at their relationship as think they don’t have to reinvest in Rutgers.

“But those of us who really believe in this place have to put our money where our mouths are,” Venables said. “We can’t just wish it to happen.”

The Rutgers University Foundation, Venables said, has made the process of giving back to Rutgers comfortable and reassuring, and he is proud to represent them this year.

“I don’t like the idea of making contributions without being able to put a face on that entity I am contributing toward,” he said. “It’s kind of who I am.”

To that end, the foundation has been instrumental in making sure that the donations Venables and his wife make to the university go to support initiatives they value. “Right now, we both believe that at the Camden campus the development of graduate studies is the best interest of what develops here,” he said.

So when the foundation approached Venables to lend his name, face, and voice to the charitable campaign, he gladly agreed. “Most people here at our campus know me. No one would hesitate to chat with me about it,” he said. “If that lends a helping hand, I am perfectly happy to have my name used that way.”

Venables can be reached at tvenable@camden.rutgers.edu or 856-225-6098 to answer faculty and staff questions about making donations to the charitable campaign. 

Newark: Dan Murnick

Among all types of donors, faculty are in the best position to see charitable dollars put to good use, says Physics Professor Daniel Murnick.

“We all know our students and how much more they could benefit – for example, if they could get part-time jobs in research labs with faculty,” Murnick said. “The faculty recognizes that, but I can help remind sometimes.”

Murnick and his wife, Janet, have donated more than $100,000 in cash and appreciated securities, as well as scientific equipment, to various programs at Rutgers–Newark. Murnick has also served on an advisory committee linking faculty with corporate and other outside donors, so he understands how a compelling case and a persuasive, comprehensive campaign can elicit more dollars.

In making a case for giving to Rutgers, Murnick encourages his colleagues to view the university not just as an employer but also as an important institution.

“The institution is more than an employer. We are also asked to give to hospitals and churches,” he said. “When we do so, we see the overall benefit to society.” In Newark in particular, Murnick said, increased monies have an impact beyond Rutgers.

Murnick said he is willing to talk to any Newark faculty or staff member who is considering donating during the campaign. He can be reached at murnick@newark.rutgers.edu, or 973-353-5446. 

New Brunswick: Jolie Cizewski      

“I have a deep commitment and passion for graduate education,” said Cizewski, who is also a professor of physics. “Ph.D. students are in many ways central to the activities of the university – they are students, they are teaching in our classrooms, they participate in research, and they help attract and retain strong faculty members.”

But the life of a doctoral student can be stressful. Limited state funding means fewer teaching opportunities for graduate students; many doctoral candidates spend large portions of their time applying for external awards to fund their research. “Donations can provide them with money to supplement those external awards, as well as provide them with stipends that are necessary to live in this area,” Cizewski said.

Cizewski tries each year to meet with the students who work for the Rutgers Telefund, calling faculty, staff, and other potential donors. The students not only encourage prospects to give; they also share their personal stories of how financial support made their collegiate activities possible.

“The students who work for the Telefund are superb. They really try to engage the faculty and staff members they reach by phone,” Cizewski said. “They should be nice to all of the students. They know a lot about Rutgers.”

Cizewski is available to talk with faculty and staff who are interested in giving during the campaign. She can be reached at cizewski@rutgers.edu or 732-932-2720.