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ACI Board of Trustees Appoints April Arnold as ACI Executive Director

CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Board of Trustees of Associated Colleges of Illinois (ACI) (https://acifund.org) appointed April Arnold, CFRE, as ACI executive director, succeeding Mick Weltman, who will retire after leading the organization for nearly eight years. Arnold brings substantial experience as a leader and fundraiser in higher education institutions and nonprofit organizations. She begins her leadership role with ACI July 5.

Currently, Arnold is an independent consultant who has worked with organizations such as Kidsmatter, Naperville, Illinois, and Futures Fundamentals, Chicago.

Arnold, who earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Arts from Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, said she is honored to be selected as ACI's next executive director. "My passion has always been to support youth," she said. "As a first-generation college student, I understand what degree completion means not only for student success, but also for the success of the family. My own experience would have been quite different without encouragement and guidance from others. To me, the secret sauce of ACI is in what we can do to augment resources, provide connections, and foster opportunities to support the colleges and universities served."

Arnold's experience as a fundraiser was key in her selection as executive director, said Lyn Bulman, chair of the ACI Board of Trustees. "The breadth of her not-for-profit experience, and particularly her time in higher education, was also an attraction," she commented. "In addition to her previous roles, everyone who met April as part of the selection process felt that she would be a good fit with ACI's culture. I am confident that April Arnold will be a worthy successor and a strong ambassador for ACI's mission."

Arnold's previous work experience includes serving as operations director for Sounds Good Choir, NFP, Downers Grove, Illinois, from 2019 to 2022. In that role, she established procedures and operations for the startup organization that serves hundreds of older adults in the Chicago area through community-based choirs. Her success included annual fundraising campaigns that increased at least 9 percent each year.

In higher education roles, she was director of corporate and foundation relations at Northern Illinois University (NIU) from 2014 to 2018. At NIU, she developed new giving policies, raised $2.5 million towards scholarship and program support, and secured one of the largest seven-figure gifts to the foundation. From 2007 to 2013, Arnold worked at Elmhurst University, Elmhurst, Illinois, an ACI member, where she was director of institutional giving and served in other senior development roles. Among her achievements were generating more than $1 million in new gifts to support capital, endowed and annual initiatives, raising $1.7 million toward a department goal of $3 million, organizing a signature fundraising event that netted more than $300,000 annually and establishing corporate alumni gatherings to build engagement.

In addition, Arnold held senior-level development and marketing roles with several nonprofit organizations, including Elmhurst Art Museum; Museum Explorer, Inc., North Riverside, Illinois, where she was also co-founder; DuPage Children's Museum, Naperville; plus Arts Alliance Illinois, Classic Digital, Inc., and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, all in Chicago.

Arnold became a Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) in March 2020. She is also active in community service activities. In 2019, she was named Outstanding Volunteer for West Suburban Philanthropic Network, Wheaton. Since 2019, she has served on the DuPage Board of Directors for Metropolitan Family Services, Wheaton, and is development and stewardship chair. She previously served on the board for Family Shelter Service, Wheaton, and served on strategic planning committees for DuPage Convention and Visitor's Bureau, and DuPage Arts for All.

Arnold and her family reside in suburban Chicago.

About Associated Colleges of Illinois (ACI):

ACI is a collaboration of 26 private, independent colleges and universities, representing more than 70,000 students. Established in 1952, ACI supports member colleges and universities by advancing independent liberal arts and sciences education and helping underserved students succeed in college, careers and life. The organization raises funds for scholarships, emergency financial aid and peer mentoring, and it provides member services such as professional development conferences, college-to-career seminars and other events.

Learn more: https://acifund.org/

Related link: https://acifund.org

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Education and Schools, Free News Articles

Associated Colleges of Illinois to Host March 9 Virtual Event Focused on Solutions to Illinois’ Economic Challenges

CHICAGO, Ill. -- College presidents, corporate leaders and students will lead an Associated Colleges of Illinois' (https://acifund.org) virtual event March 9, at 11 a.m., focused on how educators and the business community are working together to offer solutions to economic challenges faced by Illinois' companies, schools and students.

Registration (ow.ly/NzAm50DNZCo) for the virtual event is open through March 9. The video program can be viewed on ACI's website (https://acifund.org/march-9-virtual-event/).

Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2q_DTK-PnKPDVx42kIlZUvzEnnlUeOxNXRw9kprHVG76-xw/viewform

The event, "A Smarter Solution: How the Liberal Arts and Business Community Together are Solving Illinois Challenges," includes discussion of ACI's extensive alumni employment data (https://acifund.org/member-employment-data/). Presidents of four ACI-affiliated colleges and universities, a Fortune 500 company CEO and two corporate members of ACI's Board of Trustees, including a student, will be presenters.

The virtual event is planned for 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. CST. President Jamel Santa Cruze Wright, Eureka College, will introduce the program and offer concluding remarks. Wright is also ACI president.

Other topics and speakers are:

* What are the challenges? - President Philip G. Ryken, Wheaton College

* How can we meet these challenges? - Kunal Kapoor, CEO, Morningstar, Inc., and graduate of ACI-member Monmouth College

* What do ACI-member schools offer as one solution? - President Teresa L. Amott, Knox College

* What have been the results shown by the employment data? - President Troy D. Hammond, North Central College

* How can you get involved? - Chloe Overstreet, ACI board member and student at ACI-member Eureka College, and Mark A. Vargas, ACI board member and president, Licentiam. Vargas is also a graduate ACI-member Judson University.

After the virtual event, a recording will be available on ACI's YouTube channel.

About ACI:

Associated Colleges of Illinois (ACI) is a collaboration of 26 private, independent colleges and universities, representing more than 70,000 students. Established in 1952, ACI supports member colleges and universities by advancing independent liberal arts and sciences education and helping underserved students succeed in college, career and life. The organization raises funds for scholarships, peer mentoring and emergency financial aid, and it provides member services such as professional development conferences and college-to-career seminars and events. Visit ACI's website https://acifund.org for more information.

Related link: https://acifund.org

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Business, Education and Schools, Free News Articles

Associated Colleges of Illinois Board Elects New Leadership for 2020-2021

CHICAGO, Ill. -- The Associated Colleges of Illinois (ACI) Board of Trustees (https://acifund.org/board-of-trustees/) elected Lyn Bulman, retired executive vice president of global human resources, Fellowes Brands, to a two-year term as board chair. Bulman succeeded Frank D. Cella, managing director, Marsh USA, Inc., who served as ACI's board chair since 2017.

Bulman, Oak Park, Illinois, who previously served as the board's Program Committee Chair, began her new duties this month. "I am delighted to be taking this role," Bulman told the trustees. "I think ACI is a great organization. I'm very proud of the work that we do, and I think there's a lot of great progress going on that we can continue."

The board also elected Angela T. Allen, Mitchell Titus, Chicago, as treasurer and Finance Committee chair. She succeeded Clifton C. Fenton, who served several years in both roles. The board's other officer, Dr. Jamel Wright, president of Eureka College, remained in her role as ACI president.

First-ever student board representative elected

The Board of Trustees elected Chloe Overstreet, a student at Eureka College (https://www.eureka.edu/), Eureka, Illinois, as the board's first student representative in ACI's 68-year history. Overstreet, from Stillman Valley, Illinois, will begin her junior year at Eureka College this fall, majoring in history and political science, and business administration.

Overstreet was nominated by the board's Trusteeship Committee, which began discussions earlier this year about adding a student to further diversify the board. Currently, the board has 37 corporate members, plus the presidents of ACI's 27 member colleges and universities.

Overstreet is a first-generation college student, who started her college career at Eureka shortly after her father died in a work-related accident. Once at Eureka, she joined ACI's Peer Mentoring Program, aimed at helping first-generation college students through their critical first year. She began as a mentee and is now a mentor to incoming first-generation students.

"The program offered both guidance and financial relief as I was beginning college," Overstreet wrote in a letter to the board. "Access to emergency funds provided the relief that I needed to start college." Serving as an ACI board member will provide a student perspective and help other students access opportunities that ACI provides, Overstreet added.

In May, Overstreet recorded a video about her experience at Eureka College and the Peer Mentoring Program for ACI's annual fundraising event, a virtual event this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her video can be viewed at https://acifund.org/2020-aci-virtual-benefit-reception/

New committee chairs, vice chairs elected

The board also elected chairs and vice chairs of its five standing committees. Each was elected to a two-year term:
* Advancement: Anthony LoBello, Chicago, chair, and Donald A. Campbell, Jr., retired from Campbell & Co., vice chair
* Communications: Angie Winschel, Almanac, Inc., St. Louis, chair, and Holly Bartecki, Jasculca Terman Strategic Communications, Chicago, vice chair
* Finance: Angela T. Allen, chair; Bradley Summers, Wells Fargo, Chicago, vice chair
* Program: Debora L. Osgood, Hogan Marren Babbo & Rose, Ltd., Chicago, chair; Justin Lee Allen, BDJ Trucking Co., Schaumburg, vice chair
* Trusteeship: Jerry Murphy, retired from DeVry Education Group, chair; and Barry C. Mastin, Jr., Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., Chicago, vice chair

About ACI:

Associated Colleges of Illinois (ACI) is a collaboration of 27 private, independent colleges and universities, representing more than 70,000 students. Established in 1952, ACI supports member colleges and universities by advancing independent liberal arts and sciences education and helping underserved students succeed in college, careers and life. The organization raises funds for scholarships, peer mentoring and emergency financial aid, and it provides member services such as professional development conferences and college-to-career seminars and events.

Visit ACI's website (https://acifund.org) for more information.

MEDIA CONTACT:
John Brooks
Associated Colleges of Illinois
jbrooks@acifund.org
Phone 312-263-2391

Related link: https://acifund.org

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Business, Education and Schools, Free News Articles

Associated Colleges of Illinois’ Colleges and Universities Contribute More than $3.5 Billion to Illinois Economy, Updated Figures Show

CHICAGO, Ill. -- Associated Colleges of Illinois' (ACI) 26 member colleges and universities contributed an economic value of more than $3.5 billion to the Illinois economy, according to updated, publicly available information compiled by ACI. In addition, the member schools employed more than 34,000 people, enrolled nearly 70,000 students and provided $900 million in financial aid.

The updated 2019 information is available on the ACI website on the Member School Data web page: https://acifund.org/member-school-data/

Comparative data also shows that ACI member colleges graduate significantly more education and nursing majors than larger, nonmember colleges and universities in Illinois.

"Members, donors, employers and other ACI partners have expressed a significant interest in this information on our website," said Mick Weltman, ACI executive director. "The data shows ACI member colleges and universities have small faculty-student classroom ratios, a wide range of academic programs and majors, and strong employment rates for their students within two years after graduation."

The updated data is available in aggregated form, as well as individual data per member school. ACI's compilation includes several data points about its members:
* Demographic information
* Academic programs
* Employment statistics after graduation
* State economic impact and jobs
* Financial aid provided by each institution

"We want to encourage sharing this information with individuals, families, school personnel, human resources professionals, business contacts and others," Weltman said.

The data were updated by Quinn Leach, intern and graduate of ACI member North Park University, Chicago, and Eli O'Sullivan Kurtz, ACI manager of operations and research, using publicly available sources. Sources included member schools' own websites, plus data from the Federation of Independent Colleges and Universities' Economic Input Calculator and the National Center for Education Statistics' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.

Member School Data: https://acifund.org/member-school-data/

About ACI:

Associated Colleges of Illinois (ACI) is a collaboration of 26 private, independent colleges and universities, representing more than 67,000 students. Established in 1952, ACI supports member colleges and universities by advancing independent liberal arts and sciences education and helping underserved students succeed in college, career and life. The organization raises funds for scholarships, peer mentoring and emergency financial aid, and it provides member services such as professional development conferences and college-to-career seminars and events.

Visit https://acifund.org to learn more about ACI and its member colleges and universities.

Related link:

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