IMAGINATION & HOPE

WHAT THE IMAGINATION CAMPAIGN IS: capitalizing on the strengths of the community to move forward revenue-generating opportunities and build campus culture on an accelerated timeline.

WHAT IT IS NOT: a strategic plan.

In January 2021, even as so much institutional energy was centered around managing Hollins’ Culture of Care approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, President Mary Dana Hinton recognized a need for the community to be thinking beyond those immediate tactical challenges and toward a promising and sustainable future for the university. She knew the best imagination and vision for what is possible is not the product of a single mind, but rather the amalgam of dozens upon dozens of engaged and optimistic stakeholders, especially faculty and staff.

Working alongside the advancement team and Vice President for External Relations Suzy Mink ’74, Hinton was able to secure almost $10 million in gifts earmarked specifically to fund new initiatives and programs for the university that could be revenue-generating and sustainable.

Yes, Hollins and almost all universities are nonprofits, but the amount of annual revenue pulled in ultimately dictates opportunities for growth and improvement. When done well, this can create a sort of virtuous cycle, where improvement and growth result in increased revenue, which then offers even greater opportunity for improvement and growth. The funds raised for the “Imagination Campaign,” as Hinton called it, were intended to inspire a quick and vital creative spark for the entire community.

“Many observe that the path to longevity and sustainability is found by focusing squarely on the business model and finances. I disagree with that,” said Hinton. “I think it is critically important to focus on mission, campus culture, and the business model equally. You cannot, in the long term, enhance one without the others. All three must be gently held in relationship equally.

“The future of the institution is at the intersection of those three elements. That’s the rationale behind all we did with the Imagination Campaign and the culture I hope we are building at Hollins.”

IMAGINATION IN PROGRESS

By the end of 2021, 18 of the 31 proposals had begun coming to fruition. It’s a diverse portfolio of projects that offers everyone at least a few tasty morsels.

In the academic realm, work is in motion to add several graduate-level and certificate offerings in the 2022-23 academic year, and a comprehensive reform of Hollins’ general education program is on schedule to launch in the fall of 2023.

One key focus on improvements around student life centered on physical plant support for the athletics program, an area with significant room to grow in the coming years. By the start of classes next fall, a redesigned expansion to the athletic center and several improvements to the riding center should be complete. A new 200-meter track and field area across from the tennis courts along West Campus Drive will be on its way to completion and ready for the spring 2023 season.

In marketing and communications, 10 faculty and staff were accepted into an eight-week “Public Scholars” workshop. “By shifting from being leaders in scholarly discourse to leaders in public discourse, faculty will discover how their voices can shape the 21st century and beyond,” notes the program introduction from Scholars & Writers, the firm conducting the sessions, which also includes four individual sessions with a journalist consultant. In addition, brand revisioning work has begun to develop a comprehensive platform that will incorporate graduate and continuing studies while remaining compelling for the undergraduate program. The work is expected to conclude with a reorganized and redesigned website before the end of the 2022 calendar year.

THE HOLLINS OPPORTUNITY FOR PROMISE THROUGH EDUCATION (HOPE)

One of the most exciting products of the Imagination Campaign is designed to provide real HOPE.

Developed for students living in the greater Roanoke Valley region, the Hollins Opportunity for Promise through Education (HOPE) scholar program prioritizes lifting the burden of private college tuition for students with financial need and specifically supports young women who wish to pursue a college degree at Hollins with zero tuition debt.

“HOPE makes a college education affordable for young women regardless of their ability to pay, and supports them in taking the next step toward achieving their academic and professional goals,” said Ashley Browning, vice president for enrollment management at Hollins.

Under HOPE, any young woman admitted to Hollins for the fall of 2022 who resides within 40 miles of campus is invited to apply. Students whose families have a household adjusted gross income of $50,000 or less will receive priority when HOPE funds are awarded.

“HOPE is the work of changing individual lives in service to our community and democracy. I simply cannot imagine more important, powerful, or necessary work.”
President Mary Dana Hinton

“The cost of tuition is fully covered for HOPE scholars for all four years, including any year-over-year tuition increases, through a blend of academic merit scholarship, need-based federal and institutional aid, and the Virginia Tuition Assistance Grant,” Browning explained. “HOPE scholars who live on campus may choose to apply federal loans to the cost of room and board.”

The HOPE scholar program is intended to enhance the already vibrant community of Hollins students from the local area. “Nearly 12% of our student body hails from the greater Roanoke Valley,” Browning said. “Roughly two-thirds of those students commute and one-third are in residence.”

Launched last fall, HOPE has already rekindled an increased local interest in Hollins. By the application deadline, more than 100 local students had applied, up from 63 at the same time last year. And of those, some 60 had applied for the scholarship. And visits from local students have more than doubled from 2021, which wasn’t by any measure a down year. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Hollins welcomed the highest number of enrolled first-year students in 15 years in 2021 and is on a path to match or exceed that number this fall.

“HOPE is, truly, a professional and deeply personal dream come true for me,” Hinton noted. “HOPE is the work of changing individual lives in service to our community and democracy. I simply cannot imagine more important, powerful, or necessary work.”