Record-breaking number of employees give back to UHV
The University of Houston-Victoria’s annual employee giving campaign had record-breaking participation from faculty and staff members for the fourth consecutive year.
From Sept. 1, 2019, to Aug. 31, the One For All, All For One campaign received donations from 282 UHV employees, about 69 percent of the university’s full-time employees. For the 2018-2019 campaign, 215 employees donated, while 203 employees donated in 2017-2018, and 189 contributed in 2016-2017.
This year, UHV employees donated more than $73,000 to 72 campus initiatives.
“The faculty and staff at UHV have truly stepped up for our university community during such a challenging time,” UHV President Bob Glenn said. “This new milestone in participation and giving is proof of the commitment and care our faculty and staff have for UHV.”
The campaign began in 2006 as a way to encourage employees to give back to the university by making a gift of any size. Through the campaign, donors can designate what their contributions will benefit, such as scholarships, the student food pantry, specific UHV departments and student emergency assistance funds.
Out of the more than 200 donors, 34 employees in fiscal year 2020 were part of the President’s Circle. Employees in this group donated at least 1 percent of their gross annual pay to the university through the campaign.
Karen Locher, senior director of the UHV Library, is a member of the 2020 President’s Circle. She has donated to university initiatives for years, including the student food pantry, scholarships and emergency relief funds. This year, she chose to support the library’s Unit Excellence Fund.
“As a UHV alumna and employee, UHV is important in my life,” Locher said. “I donate as a way to pay it forward.”
The top funds that received the most donations from employees were the Student Emergency Fund, the General Scholarship Fund and the student food pantry. Many employees also donated to student emergency assistance funds, which were created to directly assist students affected by the economic downturn and COVID-19, said Kira Mudd, UHV director of alumni relations and annual giving, and coordinator of the campaign.
“Despite the many challenges we have faced this year, I am inspired by the goodness I see through employee support of UHV and our students,” Mudd said. “Our students are the central part of our UHV family, and the response we saw from faculty and staff blew us away. Our employees wanted to make sure that the students are taken care of and able to return to campus to finish their degrees, and I could not be prouder to work with such a caring and supportive team.”
On Sept. 17, the university kicked off the 2020-2021 One For All, All For One campaign.
The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.
