Space was cleared in Friendship Circle for the expansion of Project Friendship bricks, which is headed by the Alumni Association. Zachary Araki/The Lion’s Roar
The university philanthropy and giving campaign Lion Legacy moved from being headed by the Foundation to the Alumni Association.
According to Executive Director of Alumni Relations Michelle Biggs, the transition has progressed well.
“We just started it, and we had Lion Legacy at ‘Grad Fair’ last week,” said Biggs. “We had a lot of students participate and join the Lion Legacy program, so we’re very pleased with that. We know that going forward we’re going to be promoting it a lot more to not only graduates but to parents of graduates as possible gifts for graduation for their children.”
Biggs explained the reason behind making the transition.
“When students graduate from the university, they automatically become alumni of the university, and the Lion Legacy program is a natural first step for them to give back to the university as alumni,” said Biggs.
The three giving levels of the Lion Legacy are green level with a $20 donation, gold level with a $50 donation and loyal lion level with a $100 donation. Donations at each level are accompanied by items such as a T-shirt or a Project Friendship brick.
“One of our main goals is engagement with alumni of all ages, so this is just another opportunity to engage them, get them involved, commemorate their time here at the university and, as Michelle said, start the tradition of giving back and helping future students to reach success through Southeastern,” said Associate Director of Alumni Programming Jenni O’Neil.
Biggs discussed the purpose of the Lion Legacy.
“It’s a way for the student to give back to the university, the place where they started their career, their education,” said Biggs. “As you know probably, the university as a whole depends heavily on donations because of decreased funding from the state, so we really rely on donations not only from our alumni donors but from our new graduates to help give back to the university in terms of scholarship dollars and just general donations.”
Recent changes include the expansion of the Project Friendship bricks in Friendship Circle.
“We’ve reached capacity and so we need more space for the future graduates who are participating in the program,” said Biggs.
Project Friendship bricks can be purchased at the Alumni Association website or by visiting the office. O’Neil shared how students can become a part of the Lion Legacy.
“They had an opportunity to become a member of the Lion Legacy at ‘Grad Fair,’” said O’Neil. “They can continue to do so. It wasn’t just at ‘Grad Fair.’ They can go online to donate. They can come here to the office to donate, and we’ll also have an opportunity for them to donate at ‘Senior Send-Off.’”
