CSM Hopes to Fund 'The Next 50 Years'

College of Southern Maryland President Bradley Gottfried kicked off a $5 million major-gifts campaign with an announcement: Donors had already contributed $3.3 million in honor of the community college's 50th anniversary this year.

"The question isn't, 'Will we raise the $5 million?' It's, 'How far will we go beyond that?' " Gottfried said at a Monday morning news conference.

The campaign aims to raise enough money to help students "for the next 50 years," he said. The college, which has campuses in the three Southern Maryland counties, has more than 15,400 graduates, many of whom continue their studies at four-year universities.

Flanked by gold and black balloons at the news conference, college officials, staff members, students, alumni and supporters explained how the funds will benefit the college and the community.

The largest portion of the money will go to the Student Scholarship Fund for Access and Success, which will receive $1.5 million to help offset the cost of tuition.

"Tuition is rising, whether you are at Johns Hopkins or you are at the College of Southern Maryland," Gottfried said.

One million dollars will support programs to address an ongoing shortage of nursing and health-care professionals in Southern Maryland. The Institute for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math will receive $1 million to boost efforts to funnel more local graduates into jobs at the Patuxent River Naval Air Station. The Regional Center for Trades and Transportation will also receive $1 million.

The college plans to dedicate $500,000 to the Focus on Educational Excellence endowment fund, which will help expand online education offerings. In the past four years, the number of students enrolled in the college's online courses has increased more than 40 percent. Gottfried said Web-based classes are often easier for working students to complete than those taught in a traditional classroom.

Chretien Guidry, an assistant history professor, said he and others have worked to make online classes less "read, answer questions, read" and more interactive, adding video and audio components, maps and images.

"The results have been staggering," he said. "We can reach so many people."

Fundraising campaign chairman Mike Besche said the college will accept any donations and hopes to reach the $5 million goal soon. Donations can be made at http://www.csmd.edu/foundation/MakeADonation.html.