WHY I GIVE
JENNIFER EDDER LUTZ ’12 HISTORY Home:
Saxonburg, Pennsylvania
Professions:
Currently a stay-at-home mother
Westminster named a top performer in social mobility
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or the third consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has named Westminster College among the top-performing national liberal arts schools for social mobility.
Giving History:
Listed in its 2022 Best Colleges guide, U.S. News placed Westminster at the No. 10 slot, advancing four spots from last year. Westminster is the only national liberal arts college from Pennsylvania to place in the Top 10.
Why Jennifer Gives:
According to U.S. News, economically disadvantaged students are less likely than others to finish college, even when controlling for other characteristics.
First-time donor in 2020; second-generation lineage of giving “I come from a family of Westminster graduates! My mother and father (Rich Edder ‘84 and Judy Brooks Edder ‘85) met there and both graduated from there. The legacy of the Westminster liberal arts education was evident in how my brother and I were raised; we were always encouraged to ask questions, to learn and to think through our decision-making. When it came time to make my own college decision, Westminster already felt like home. I wouldn’t trade my years at Mother Fair for the world. I learned so much about myself, about people and about how to think. My education influences the way I parent and the way I live my daily life. It is an exciting prospect to give so that future generations may reap the same benefits and have the same opportunities I had. Westminster truly makes the world a better place.”
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U.S. News' Top Performers list, established in 2019, assesses how well schools graduate students who receive federal Pell Grants, a form of need-based federal financial aid. Pell Grant recipients come from households whose family incomes are less than $50,000 annually, though most Pell Grant money goes to students with a total family income below $20,000. Committed to academic excellence that facilitates social mobility, Westminster has a number of initiatives in place to enhance opportunities for degree completion including the Academic Success Center and the TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) program. Westminster was named to the 117 spot among the best liberal arts colleges in the nation in the U.S. News Best Colleges edition, which evaluated 1,466 colleges and universities on 17 measures of academic quality such as first-year student retention, graduation rates and strength of faculty. In addition to the U.S. News rankings, Westminster climbed in Washington Monthly’s annual 2021 College Guide and Rankings, this year jumping 32 spots to claim a Top 100 position in the publication’s “Best Liberal Arts Colleges” list.
