September 28, 2023
To the Members of ASMSA’s Community of Learning:
In 1980, Duke University launched its Talent Identification Program, providing valuable academic enrichment opportunities for several generations of pre-college students. The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated shifts in the programmatic landscape and resulted in the closure of longstanding initiatives that help to identify promising elementary and middle grades students who would benefit from above-level testing as well as subsequent enrichment and acceleration. As a result, states across the southeastern region were left without this important apparatus Around 2,000 young people annually in Arkansas alone were participating in some component of the Duke TIP.
When the news broke, ASMSA watched in surprise as a critical resource for gifted students, their families, and the educators who support them vanished overnight. While we acknowledged the loss, more pressing matters were at the front of our minds. After all, we were in our own state of transformation as the school worked to resume residential operations in fall 2020 while also expanding the critical support systems for students who would be intentionally pursuing their learning online as well as anticipating others who would need digital bridges while away from campus in either quarantine or isolation.
As the months continued and other states began the work of developing their own initiatives, we anticipated that other larger groups in Arkansas might step up to lead the charge. When no one did, the question was a simple one: “Why not us? Why not ASMSA?” Through our conversations with ASMSA stakeholders in the time since, we concluded that filling this void for Arkansas while encouraging students to learn to the full potential was a commitment the school should embrace and in direct alignment with our legislated charge to support students and educators across Arkansas.
ASMSA-TIP will provide gifted students, parents, and educators with resources and guidance that are tailored to support a child’s educational, social, and emotional development. Such programs empower students to reach their full potential while helping parents and educators make the best educational decisions for their students. Participants also will receive a monthly e-newsletter with specific content for students and their parents, access to quarterly webinar sessions with Gifted and Talented professionals, and an opportunity to participate in a recognition ceremony for students who perform exceptionally well on the ACT exam. More information is available online at https://asmsa.org/tip.
Sincerely,
Corey Alderdice ASMSA Director
Office of the Director
September 2023 Quarterly Report
Corey Alderdice, ASMSA Director By the Numbers• Enrollment for Academic Year 2023-24 began with 255 students. Assuming all residential spaces on campus are utilized, residential enrollment would currently be capped at 260 students.
• 100% of students who were admitted in May 2023 arrived on campus in August for Move-In Day. Because some “summer melt” is generally accounted for admissions offers, this return has created nominal challenges related to additional COVID quarantine spaces on campus.
• The ASMSA Foundation Fund of the University of Arkansas Foundation, Inc., received $314,502 in gifts and other revenue for FY23 that concluded on June 30th
30th Anniversary Celebration Begins
The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts kicked off its 30-year anniversary celebration by recognizing the contributions of both current and former faculty during a luncheon on August 23rd. The date is celebrated annually as ASMSA’s Founders Day. On Aug. 23, 1993, the school’s first students began classes at what was then known as the Arkansas School for Mathematics and Sciences. Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, marked the three decades since that inaugural day of instruction. Faculty members from across the school’s past and present gathered for a luncheon, recognition of their service, and a beam-signing for the new Campus Administration Building currently under construction.
Ernestine Ross, a founding faculty member who continues to teach in the Humanities Department, was recognized for her dedication to the school and its students. ASMSA Director Corey Alderdice presented Ross with a watch and a bouquet of flowers to celebrate her 30 years at the school. Several other retired faculty and staff members were officially recognized for their contributions to the institution as well.
The event included remarks from Director Alderdice, 30th Anniversary chair Nia Rieves, founding instructor Donna Hutchinson, founding student life staff member and current Board of Visitors appointee Mary Alice Chambers, as well as alumnus and State Rep. Matt Brown.
A committee of faculty and staff are planning other events that will highlight ASMSA’s impact while celebrating this milestone occasion across the coming year. The celebration will culminate with a special gala on Saturday, May 4, 2024.
Facilities and Campus Master Planning
Replacement of the roof on the current Academic and Administration Building (200 Whittington Ave.) was completed over the summer. The project is the culmination of a variety of a infrastructure upgrades completed on ASMSA’s primary academic building over the past three years. The slate also included a new HVAC system, fire monitoring systems, elevators, and ADA accessible entry. The interior cabs of the elevators will be refreshed later this year. Campus leadership has obtained a preliminary cost opinion from ASMSA’s on-call architect for
the costs associated with a “refresh” on the first floor of the building that will prepare the space as faculty offices beginning with the Fall 2024 semester.
The University of Arkansas Board of Trustees approved the transfer of property from the City of Hot Springs at their May 2023 meeting. This includes the 200 Whittington facility as well as the structures behind the Student Center, parking lot, and open land at the back end of campus. While ASMSA will not be able to access one of the warehouses before 2025, the facility is being targeted for use as the hub for campus maintenance and janitorial services.
ASMSA issued a formal offer to purchase the former Mountain Valley Warehouse at 179 Cedar Street. The property is interior to the ASMSA campus and adjacent to the Student Center. A bid was offered in alignment with an appraisal conducted by a third party on behalf of ASMSA; however, the owner has opted to pursue an alternative offer from another party.
Construction continues on the new Campus Administration Building. Site prep, dirt work, and rock removal constituted most of the work completed throughout the spring. Over the course of the summer, utilities were installed, retaining walls built, and the site pad poured. Steel work began in late August, and much of the building has taken shape as of this report. The pads for the upper floors have been poured and interior framing is underway. The project is scheduled for completion in spring 2024. A live feed of the construction site is available at https://cab.asmsa.org.
A committee of employees will begin work in earnest this semester on updates to the 2008 Campus Master Plan. The goal will be to set a 2033 Vision for the campus that builds on the more than $35 million invested since 2010. The document will explore what is built on the footprint of the former hospital complex, sites for expanded housing, as well as areas for wellness and athletic spaces on campus.
COVID-19 Update
ASMSA experienced a surge of positive COVID-19 cases in August as a result of the latest subvariant. Due to limited vacant residential space, students often had to isolate off campus for the full ten-day period rather than return to campus in soft-quarantine on day six. Students had access to hybrid-flexible classes via Zoom so that they could remain fully engaged in coursework while away from campus. ASMSA maintains an active approach to testing for COVID as well as contact tracing when positive cases are identified. Close contacts may remain on campus; however, they are expected to mask until cleared through testing. Our protocols are likely the most stringent of any school in the state. Other districts appear to have abandoned contact tracing altogether, and many local districts have defaulted to students returning to campus so long as they are fever-free for 24 hours after a positive test.
ASMSA Again #1 in Arkansas in Niche.com Ranking, Breaks National Top 50
The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts is the top public high school in Arkansas and among the top 50 in the nation in the 2024 Niche.com rankings. Niche.com is a website that provides in-depth profiles on thousands of colleges, school districts and individual K-12 schools across the nation. Parents and students use Niche’s information to find the right school for them.
ASMSA is No. 1 on the website’s Best Public High Schools in Arkansas list. In addition to its top state ranking, the school is No. 46 out of more than 20,400 public high schools included in the website’s national rankings. The school is also rated as top in the state in Niche.com’s Best College Prep Public High Schools in Arkansas and Best High Schools for STEM in Arkansas lists.
ASMSA earned an A-plus Overall Niche Grade as well as A-plus grades in the individual categories of Academics, Teachers, College Prep as well as Resources and Facilities. To view ASMSA’s profile, visit https://asmsa.me/nicheprofile.
Grades, ratings and rankings for each school are determined by information provided to Niche by the U.S. Department of Education, self-reported information from each individual institution as well as reviews by students, parents and alumni of the school. To see a full list of the 2024 Best Public High Schools in Arkansas, visit https://www.niche.com/k12/search/best-public-highschools/s/arkansas/.
Strategic Plan Year Three Progress Report
As ASMSA passes the mid-point of the 2025 Strategic Plan, campus leadership took time this summer to review progress completed over the 2022-23 academic year and to align priorities for the upcoming year. Director Alderdice is incredibly grateful for the work that our faculty, staff, and students have committed to throughout the pandemic and being able to emerge this past year toward a state of normalcy that had been lost for some time. When our community of learning began work on this plan in early 2020, we didn’t fully appreciate how much it would anchor our actions and reinforce our values during a period of such significant disruption.
The full Year Three Progress Report and other details are available at https://www.asmsa.org/strategicplan.
Global Learning Program Celebrates 10th Anniversary
Twenty-two students from the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts Class of 2014 along with three chaperones traveled to Japan in June 2013 as part of the Kakehashi Project a 10-day cultural exchange program sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan. A decade later, more than 500 members of the school’s community of learning have traveled the world as part of its Global Learning Program establishing studying abroad as a central component of the ASMSA experience. More than 430 students have traveled abroad through the Global Learning Program, various government language and cultural exchange programs, as well as the Hot Springs Sister City program. Beginning in 2014, the program expanded to other destinations including Italy, China, England, Costa Rica, Greece, and Spain. Trips to Japan, Ireland, Belize, and Quebec City, Canada, are set for this academic year.
A full story with highlights from Ron Luckow and Dr. Dan Kostopulous, who have both chaired the initiative, is available online at:
https://www.asmsa.org/news/asmsa-global-learning-program-marks-10-year-anniversary/
ASMSA Earns State’s First Computer Science Gold Medal
The Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts received Gold Medal recognition in the Arkansas Computer Science Gold Medal School Program sponsored by the Arkansas Department of Education Office of Computer Science. ASMSA is the first school to achieve the Computer Science Gold Medal designation since the program was established in the fall of 2020 by the Arkansas Department of Education. The program recognizes Arkansas high schools for outstanding work in implementing computer science and computing programs.
Ranks are based on information submitted to and reviewed by the Office of Computer Science. As part of the ranking rubric, schools obtaining a minimum number of points may receive a bronze, silver or gold ranking, with gold being the highest level and requiring high performance in a majority of the criteria. In addition to ASMSA, seven other high schools across the state earned either a Silver or Bronze Medal for the 2022-23 cycle.
ASMSA offers a wide range of computer science courses and out-of-school enrichment programs that are not typically available at other Arkansas high schools. Since ASMSA’s opening in 1993, all students have been required to take a computer programming course while also having the opportunity to explore courses in game creation, modern manufacturing, artificial intelligence and robotics, web applications, and other college-level computer programming courses. ASMSA students have consistently ranked highly in various computer science competitions, including the Governor’s All-State Coding Competition, the Air Force Association’s CyberPatriot cybersecurity competition, the Congressional App Challenge, and various robotics competitions, including BEST Robotics state and regional competitions.
The Coding Arkansas’ Future initiative which is part of the STEM Pathways program has provided opportunities for school districts across the state to meet the need for increased access to computer science coursework since its creation in 2015. The initiative has provided educators professional development sessions that prepare them to teach computer science in their own districts as well as seek state licensure. ASMSA instructors also conduct interactive sessions with educators and students throughout the school year. That program has previously been recognized by Code.org, the National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools and Google for its excellence. There were more than 2,900 computer science students statewide enrolled in Coding Arkansas’ Future cohorts for the 2022-23 academic year. That figure represented about one out of every eight students statewide who took a computer science course. More than 70 educators statewide participated in last year’s cohort, which provided the educators with professional development opportunities as well as classroom assistance.
Director of Institutional Advancement
Ashley Bennett is the new director of institutional development at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts. Bennett started in the position on July 1 and oversees the operation of the Office of Institutional Advancement and the ASMSA Foundation. She most recently served as an associate director of development at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, where she also previously served as a development associate.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology as well as a master’s degree in college student personnel Administration, both from Arkansas Tech University in Russellville.
Bennett is currently working on her Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) certification and is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals-Arkansas Chapter.
Bennett said she is excited about the opportunity to serve as ASMSA’s chief fundraiser. She has a personal connection to the school her oldest daughter is a senior this year. That has allowed her to become familiar with the benefits the school offers its students, and is why one of her early focus areas will be on parents.
Morris Selected for Leadership Arkansas
Dr. Rheo Morris, dean of students at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, has been selected as a member of Leadership Arkansas Class XVIII. Leadership Arkansas is sponsored by the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas. The nine-month program consists of nine multi-day sessions held in different locations throughout the state. The sessions feature Arkansas leaders who represent a wide geographic base and who have diverse backgrounds and vocations. This year’s class has 53 participants.
Morris is a graduate of the Leadership Hot Springs program and currently serves on its board. Participating in that program helped her become more familiar with the city. In addition to serving on Leadership Hot Springs’ board, Morris is a member of Rotary Club of Oaklawn, Junior Auxiliary of Hot Springs, and an assistant clerk and youth director at her church.
Alderdice Begins Service as NCSSS President
Corey Alderdice, director of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts, became president of the National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools Board of Directors on July 1. Alderdice will serve as president of the organization’s board through the 2023-24 academic year, with his term set to expire in November 2024. He was installed as the board’s president-elect in November 2022 and was set to become president in November 2023, but stepped into the role early as the previous president retired from their school at the end of June. Alderdice has served on the NCSSS Board of Directors since November 2019. NCSSS was established in 1988 to provide a forum for specialized secondary schools focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics to exchange information and program ideas. It includes approximately 100 member high schools, many ranked among the best in the country, along with 55 affiliate and associate members (colleges, universities, summer programs, foundations and corporations) located in 32 states and four countries.
Class of 2024 Commencement Location
Commencement Exercises for ASMSA graduates will be held at a new location beginning with celebrations for the Class of 2024. The ceremony will be held at 2pm on Saturday, May 18, 2023, at the Oaklawn Event Center in Hot Springs. The space, which opened in 2021, presents a venue comparable to Horner Hall, which was frequently the ceremony’s location within the Hot Springs Convention Center. Due to policy changes by Visit Hot Springs, ASMSA’s ceremony was moved to Bank OZK Arena. Campus leadership felt the venue was too large and lacked the intimacy for such a ceremony based on the institution’s size. Additional details will be shared as nearer the ceremony next spring.
Office of Academic Affairs
October 2023 Quarterly Report
Stuart Flynn, Dean of Academic AffairsSince the initial Covid-19 outbreak in Spring 2020, ASMSA has worked thoughtfully and diligently to protect our students and employees while also ensuring students’ progress in their coursework. When students are out with Covid-19 but not experiencing severe symptoms, those students participate in classes via ZOOM, and we work closely with parents regarding quarantining on campus and at home. As a residential learning community, we are more vulnerable to the effects of Covid-19 than most public high schools, and to begin this school year, from August 15th to September 15th, we saw a surge in Covid-19 cases resulting in quarantines for 43 students. As of September 24th, all of those students had returned to campus, and because of the efforts from our instructors and academic counselors, only 15 of those 43 students saw their grades decline while quarantined, and our instructors and academic counselors are intervening now to help those students catch up with their coursework.
By the Numbers
● Nine ASMSA students recognized as semifinalists by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.
● Three new full-time instructors: Dan Anderson (Media & Film), Mark Turner (Chemistry), Lola Warren (Art).
● 252 total students and 110 new Juniors and Sophomores.
● Forty-five concurrent credit courses offered Fall Semester.
Arts Programming
The 2022-23 school year marks the second full year of our Visual Arts & Design P.O.D. (Program of Distinction). Visual Arts & Design P.O.D. students take a sequence of courses in art history, drawing, 2D design, 3D design, digital photography, art electives, and the sequence culminates in a senior portfolio/studio course designed to guide students toward the completion of a final portfolio of artwork that students will present during ASMSA’s annual Arts & Humanities Symposium in May.
As we continue to grow and refine the Visual Arts & Design P.O.D, we are also in the process of developing a Music P.O.D. We currently have eighty students involved in music through Wind Ensemble, String Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, and Choir. Interest in music performance, lessons, and classroom courses has never been higher. Last year, we added Dr. Nathan Groot as an instructor in our Music Program to join Dr. Tom Dempster, who serves ASMSA as Associate Dean for Arts & Humanities and as Music Director. This Fall we will post for a third full-time Music instructor and collaborate with the ASMSA Admissions Department to develop recruitment strategies specifically designed to attract talented student musicians across Arkansas.
Sophomore Summer Splash
For the first time since ASMSA began admitting Sophomore students, we brought all of our Sophomores (HELIX students and Early Entrance students) to campus from July 16-21 for a week of orientation activities specifically designed for Sophomores to help them prepare for the transition from their sending schools to ASMSA. Our instructors, academic counselors, and residential life staff offered sessions in math, science, humanities, and arts, as well as time management, task prioritization, emotional regulation, seeking help, and healthy habits. We admitted thirty-nine Sophomores for the 2023-24 school year, the largest incoming class of Sophomores since the creation of ASMSA’s Sophomore pilot program.
New Academic Initiatives
During the 2023-24 school year, ASMSA’s Teaching & Learning Committee will consider possible new models to deliver ASMSA academic content to Arkansas students who may not be able to attend ASMSA in person. Last summer, nine ASMSA instructors from STEM and Arts & Humanities participated in APSI workshops where they earned their AP teaching certificates. The Teaching & Learning Committee is particularly interested in ways that we might expand course choice by using digital learning to supplement educational opportunities for Arkansas students in underserved counties. In addition, we will take up ideas for potential collaboration with other Arkansas high schools and further evaluate the possible expansion of our existing teacher training program, STEM Pathways.
Office of Student Life
October 2023 Quarterly Report
Rheo Morris,
Ph.D., Deanof Students
The ASMSA office of Student Life has filled two Residence Experience Coordinator positions We have recently wrapped up SGA floor elections and the Club Fair
By the Numbers
• The Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Masters Social Worker have conducted sixty-eight individual counseling sessions for the month of August.
• Nine students were accepted into the Leadership Hot Springs youth program
• Club registration ended with thirty clubs being renewed and twenty-five new clubs being created for a total of fifty-five approved student clubs.
• Forty-three students tested positive for COVID-19 and were sent home to isolate until day six.
Summer Programs
Summer camps and conferences were a success as we were able to accommodate several outside and internal camps/conferences. External groups included Arkansas’s Division of Workforce Services’ Transition Employment Project (TEP) that saw several young students learning life skills, an Advanced Statistics workshop, and a Computer Science professional development group.
The month of July was very busy with several internal outreach and academic camps that included Biomed, Computer Science, Japanese Language, Research in the Park, and Studio Art camps as well as College Algebra Readiness Camp (CARC), H.E.L.I.X. (Helping Elevate Low Income Students to Excellence) Twist Prep Academy, and new student orientation.
Staffing
Residence Life staff members were changed to 10 and half months for the Residence Life Office Secretary and Residential Mentors while the Residence Experience Coordinators were changed to twelve-month positions. We hired several live-in staff who began during the summer and July 15th These include a Residence Experience Coordinator; Marquise Brown and a Residential Mentor; Kendall Sanders (’18).
Reach Student Life Management
We have rolled out the Reach Student Life Management platform that is a student management system that is designed specifically for residential schools such as ASMSA. It helps us to manage a wide range of residential activities including sign outs, anticipated leave, roll calls, event sign up, and staff duty rounds. Residential staff and the Registrar can see who is not on campus using real-time data and this data also gets transferred to Blackbaud for class absences.
Reach is cloud-based and can be accessed from any device with an internet connection, using either a web browser or via the mobile app. Students can use the system to request or manage their leave, view or register for events (Walmart trips, fun trips, etc.), and let us know where they
are at various on-campus and off-campus locations. At the end of the day, residential staff can pull a record showing which students are at home, thus replacing the paper fire list.
Reach has been rolled out to parents so they can have more control of who their students check out with and when they check out. Parents/guardians can log on in real time and monitor approved persons, view a history of checkouts, or approve a leave request for their students.
COVID-19
We saw a spike in COVID cases at the end of August into the middle of September. There was a total of 43 students who tested positive for COVID and were either sent home to isolate or remain on campus in isolation. Students were able to return on their 6th day and attend classed while wearing masks, per CDC guidelines. We have not had a case since 9/15 thanks to our monitoring of students with symptoms and adherence to the CDC guidelines.
Office of Admissions and Outreach
October 2023 Report
Jason Hudnell, Director ofAdmissions
October will mark the opening of the 2024 Admissions Application. The Admissions office is working diligently to recruit another outstanding incoming class. The last few months have seen several notable events including; Summer @ ASMSA, September Preview Day, ASMSA Outreach MASH-ups and Tinkerfest. Finally, in September ASMSA launched our newest initiative; ASMSA-TIP.
By the Numbers (Data from June 1-September 30)
• 25 Personal Campus Tours were given
• 8 Shadow Stays
• 170 Reply Cards submitted
• 17 families attended September Preview Day
• 67 students attended Summer @ ASMSA
• 9 students participated in September MASH-up event
Summer @ ASMSA
ASMSA hosted 67 campers and student staffers for 2023 Summer @ ASMSA. This summer program continues to be a fertile recruiting ground for ASMSA Admissions. AEGIS grants helped to fund our Japanese Language and Culture camp as well as our Environmental Sciences camp. Other camps included Computer Science and Studio Arts.
September Preview Day
ASMSA hosted the first Preview Day of the year on Saturday, September 16th. 17 families from all across Arkansas spent a half day on our campus learning more about our community of learning. We have already seen many of those students take the next steps of registering for a shadow stay or a personal tour of campus.
ASMSA Outreach attends Tinkerfest at Museum of Discovery
On Saturday, September 16 ASMSA Outreach participated in the Little Rock Museum of Discovery's Tinkerfest 2023 event. ~50 activity booths centered on exploratory play and tinkering drew a crowd of over 2,000 folks to downtown Little Rock. Four Admissions Delegates volunteered to host ASMSA's booth: "The Wonderful World of Water and Wax," where everyone could explore how wax crayons prevented watercolor from staining paper. Participants then got to display their artistic creations for parents to pick up later in the afternoon. Children as young as 1 enjoyed painting their names as a wonderful watercolor masterpiece!
ASMSA MASH-up
On Saturday, September 9th, ASMSA hosted the first of 5 MASH-up events for this academic year. 9 prospective students participated in a hands-on, minds-on workshop about the physics of waves and the making of musical instruments. September's MASH-up was taught by Dr. Nathan Groot (Music) and Dr. Ashley Hicks (Outreach). During the snack break, 4 ASMSA Admissions Delegates shared about their experiences learning and living on campus, and several participants
indicated interest in attending a campus tour or Preview Day after the event was over. Our next MASH-up will be "Particle Physics & Sherlock Holmes" on Saturday, October 14th.
ASMSA-TIP Launches
ASMSA-TIP is a new initiative for Arkansas 7th graders. ASMSA-TIP will provide gifted students, parents and educators with resources and guidance that are tailored to support a child’s educational, social and emotional development. Participants will receive a voucher to take the ACT as an “above-level” test. This practice will help ASMSA-TIP better enrich and support talented students and their parents. An end of the year recognition ceremony will be held on ASMSA campus for participants who score extremely well on the exam.
2024 Admissions Application is Open
The admissions application is now open and the admissions office will begin processing them soon.
Office of Institutional Advancement
October 2023 Report
Ashley Bennett, Director of Institutional AdvancementIt has been an exciting beginning of the Fall semester as the new Director of Institutional Advancement here at ASMSA. During this time I have been acclimating to the school environment, onboarding at ASMSA, understanding the current funds in place, creating organization within the office, meeting the Board of Ambassadors, and although I have Foundation background; I have undergone a deeper University of Arkansas Foundation training. I am finding a comfort level between fundraising and director level administrative responsibilities. Moving forward, the Office of Institutional Advancement (IA) plans to deliver various tailored fundraising appeals to parents, alumni, and the community as it further educates them on the importance of private philanthropic needs of ASMSA. As for my personal portfolio, growth there will happen as relationships are built and proposals will be personalized individually to those donors.
By the Numbers
Quarterly FY24 Funds Raised: $27,716.68
● Pipeline
○ Grants
■ Ross Foundation: $10,000
■ Elisabeth Wagner: $2,500
■ Blue and You Calming: $2,500
■ Weyerhaeuser: TBD
■ United Way Wellness: $10,000
■ Arkansas Community Foundation-Giving Tree: $1,700
○ Private Philanthropy
■ $16,016.68
● Moves Management
○ Identification: 5 donors
○ Qualification: 3 donors
○ Stewardship: donors and grant committees with completed gifts have been thanked via phone and personalized notes.
ASMSA-TIP
The ASMSA Foundation (IA) is supporting the Office of Admissions in its pursuit of the ASMSA TIP (Talent Identification Program) for the state of Arkansas to provide ACT vouchers for low-income families, which was launched this September. We have requested a small grant of $1,700 from the Arkansas Community Foundation, which we received recently, and we have applied for a $10,000 dollar grant from the Ross Foundation to support this effort. We found out
on September 23, 2023, that our pre-proposal for the Ross Foundation was accepted and we are now able to submit our full proposal, which is excellent news for ASMSA.
ASMSA Student Ambassadors
This year’s Office of Institutional Advancement Student Ambassadors consists of twelve students from various backgrounds representative of all parts of Arkansas. They apply in the spring semester and go through an interview process. As top students on campus, they are student leaders that are not only learning about the world of philanthropy, but also participating in leadership activities that are highly important to campus, such as, campus tours, community events, alumni weekend, IA administrative tasks, and the upcoming Gala.
Network for Good
The Office of Institutional Advancement is currently working in a system within Blackbaud called Raiser’s Edge. This system does not provide ASMSA with the efficiency necessary to provide the Director with accessible automated features. We have recently partnered with Bonterra’s donor platform called Network for Good that is currently in the works. It will allow us to automate some of our services, thereby providing customer friendly donor experiences. They are in the process of uploading our data into the system, and I am creating our new giving page for ASMSA. Network for Good will be a nice upgrade for the institution and create more flexibility for donors to give to multiple designations. The ability for donors to designate their giving online easily is crucial for not only retention but sustainer program implementation.
FY24 Strategic Giving Days ASMSA Giving Tuesday
The national Giving Tuesday will be hosted on November 28th, 2023. I will be adding ASMSA Giving Tuesday to our school calendar and have spoken with Donnie Sewell about making sure there will be a plan for promoting this on social media all throughout the month of November. I will also speak to Robert Bryant, Jr. about ensuring this is in the Alumni Newsletter. Both will contain links to the new giving page (Network for Good addition) for quick accessibility. It being the 30th Anniversary, our Giving Tuesday will be centered around giving back donations of at least $30. From my findings, I do not see that there have been large pushes the past few years for Giving Tuesdays. I could not find a monetary value to share from 2021 but in 2022 my closest estimation was $5,528 from 24 donations, two of those being over $1000. Of course, historically most institutions will count their full week for their ‘Giving Tuesday’ numbers. This is promising for ASMSA. 21 of the 24 were made on the day of Giving Tuesday. Of course, this is just counting online donations made. No expectation or goal is set for FY24.
ASMSA End of Year Giving
Approximately 30% of annual giving comes from year-end giving pushes for most institutions. This is based on a number of factors. Size of institution, timing, do you have a good end of year
campaign, is this something your institution does on a regular basis? I am unclear of historical materials used such as, direct mail appeals, social media engagement, etc., but this will become a part of the Office of Institutional Advancement’s fiscal year initiatives moving forward. I am hesitant to set a goal for this year, but like Giving Tuesday we will shape everything around the 30th Anniversary of ASMSA. For FY25 planning, we will evaluate the data. I am confident that ASMSA can have successful year end campaigns.
ASMSA Day of Giving
Day of Giving at ASMSA has in years past been hosted in May. Usually, you want to base your Day of Giving around either a historically relevant day to your institution, or a big day that gets a lot of attention from the public. We may continue to keep it during this month, although this year we have the ASMSA 30th Anniversary Gala. So we may adjust the date for this year. To be determined at a later time.
ASMSA Gala
The Gala will be held on May 4th, 2024, at ASMSA to honor the 30th anniversary of the school. Ticket prices and table sponsorship prices have been set with a reduced price to encourage faculty to attend. We will be talking with Dean Flynn and Department Chairs to discuss with their teams about the importance of attending Gala. There will be upcoming discussions held with potential headliners from the community to be the main sponsor of the event. Save the dates will be going out in advance. Once final decisions have been made, I will reach out to the city and Chamber of Commerce to add to the community calendars. The fundraising goal of the gala has not been set. Until I secure our headlining sponsor, I would rather not finalize the goal just yet.
