Women’s Education Initiative
Women’s
Education
Initiative
6.8% OF CAMPAIGN TOTAL
Women’s College forging future leaders
Brenau Women’s College continues to be the bedrock of our great university as it provides young women a phenomenal education grounded in the liberal arts. As a Brenau Women’s College alumna, I’ve grown increasingly appreciative over the years of how my Brenau education and experience prepared me for a life of leadership and learning.
After the death of my husband, Ed, in 2003, I was thrust into the senior executive role of our multigenerational family business, Carroll Daniel Construction. Was I overwhelmed? Yes. Was I scared? Absolutely. However, as I slowly gathered my wits, I stood on the fact and took great comfort in knowing that I am a Brenau woman. Because of my Brenau experiences and education, I knew I had what it takes to lead this company. Today, I take great pride in my son, Brian, leading the business as the company is enjoying the best days in its 72-year history.
I am proud to report that through our collective efforts the successful completion of our ForeverGold campaign has increased scholarship opportunities for our students who need that support and who are willing to work hard to earn a world-class education at Brenau. Our generosity also has enhanced the Women’s College experience through the creation of the Women’s Leadership Colloquium and the Women’s Leadership Certificate Program, as well as new residential housing, a new sorority row and the completion of the first phase of Ernest Grindle Athletics Park.
Today, women are making personal and professional strides previously unheard of, many because of their stellar women’s college experiences like we offer at Brenau. The data is clear: Alumnae of women’s colleges are more likely than their peers to earn advanced degrees, become CEOs, run for elected office or own businesses. Women’s college alumnae report higher levels of self-confidence, engagement in critical thinking and overall satisfaction with their college experiences.
Serving as co-chair of this great effort has been an honor as our shared generosity sets the Women’s College on a firmer foundation for generations to come. Thank you for your part in helping make this so.
Carole Ann Carter Daniel, WC ’68
Trustee, Brenau University
Co-Chair, ForeverGold: An Extraordinary Legacy Campaign
Community activist Deborah Mack speaks during the fifth annual Women’s Leadership Colloquium at Brenau University on March 16. (AJ Reynolds/Brenau University)
WOMEN’S
LEADERSHIP
COLLOQUIUM
Each spring, the Brenau University Women’s College hosts an afternoon of information and inspiration at the Women’s Leadership Colloquium. Students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the university gather for conversations about the challenges and potential of women’s leadership.
COLLOQUIUM
QUICK FACTS
- The Women’s Leadership Colloquium has been held for five years.
- The event fills the 350-seat Hosch Theatre in the John S. Burd Center for the Performing Arts with more than 1,125 attendees to date.
- Since its inception, the colloquium has featured 23 successful women experts and 15 student speakers.
- Guest speakers have included an attorney, newspaper publisher, fashion industry executive, leadership coach, regional health system CEO, civic leaders, entrepreneurs and business owners in fields of construction, marketing, communications and event planning.
- The 2019 keynoter will be Kim Powell, New York Times best-selling author of The CEO Next Door, and the Brenau Alumni Association Endowed Speaker will be Brenau trustee and Hollywood costume designer Antonina Lerch.
GRACE HOOTEN MOORE MEMORIAL FOUNTAIN AND DANIEL PAVILION
The Grace Hooten Moore Memorial Fountain, which has been on campus since 1880, is named for a 1938 alumna and sits on the front lawn in front of Pearce Auditorium. It is silhouetted against the Daniel Pavilion, which was built in 2009 and is inscribed with the Four Portals of Learning. The pavilion, constructed of Italian marble, was a
gift from Carole Ann Carter Daniel, WC ‘68, a member of the Brenau Board of Trustees and co-chair of the ForeverGold campaign.
WOMEN’S COLLEGE DONORS
When considering the solicitable pool of Women’s College donors, 32% provided a gift to the comprehensive campaign.
FIRST-TIME DONORS
We averaged 222 donors per year that were providing their first gift to Brenau.
ERNEST LEDFORD GRINDLE ATHLETICS PARK
The Melvin Douglas and Victoria Kay Ivester Foundation provided funding in 2014 to complete development of the first phase of the university’s Ernest Ledford Grindle Athletics Park, named for Kay Ivester’s father, in New Holland where the Ivesters grew up. Brenau’s softball team opened play at the new facility in February 2017.
The Golden Tigers closed the 2016-17 season with a program-best 52 wins, including a 31-game winning streak, and became the first team to go undefeated in Southern States Athletic regular and conference-season play (30-0). After reaching its highest national ranking in program history at No. 2, Brenau’s historic season came to an end with a 1-0 loss in the NAIA National Tournament.
GOLDEN TIGERS
AT GRINDLE PARK
3 No-hitters pitched
11 Home runs
17 Shutouts thrown
32 Home wins
326 Strikeouts pitched
COMFORTS of CAMPUS
New housing gives students a place to call home
By Kristen Bowman
The short stretch of Prior Street that runs through Brenau’s historic Gainesville campus has long been an important avenue for the 140-year-old university. But for the last two years, it’s looked a little different. Now it is marked by stately white structures on each side, including the three-story New Hall, housing more than 70 students, and the four, two-story sorority houses opposite it, housing 17 students each.
The five new housing facilities were part of a $6.5 million ForeverGold construction project that began in 2014 and replaced several decades-old buildings. It was all part of an initiative to improve the quality of the residential experience for students in the Brenau University Women’s College — the only women’s college in the United States that has dedicated houses for national sororities, boasting several historic chapters that have marked 100th anniversary milestones on the campus.
“Brenau is committed to making the Women’s College experience the best that it can be,” says President Ed Schrader. “Residence life and Greek life have been an essential part of that experience throughout Brenau’s history.”
Chelsey Bell, a senior biology major and member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, says she “absolutely loves” living in the sorority house.
“The new housing opened my freshman year at Brenau, and since then, we have made some great memories in our house,” she says. “They are obviously very different from what the students had before, and I think they are such an upgrade. These new houses give us more privacy now that we have our own bathrooms and are no longer having to share with a suitemate or with the entire floor. I am really thankful Brenau has given us such great dorms to call home for our four years.”
Sommer Stockton, a senior mass communication major, has lived in New Hall since it first opened in 2015. She, too, is thankful for the amenities it offers.
“After spending two years living in the new dorms, it truly has become like a home away from home, even when home is 20 minutes away,” says the Hoschton, Georgia, native. “The rooms are a comfortable, decently sized dorm compared to the average dorm, and if I’m honest, the showers are a blessing after having a long, stressful school day.”
Diamond Wood, senior pre-nursing major, says one of her favorite features of the hall is the study room between the suites.
“There’s a lot of space to hang out with friends or have homework parties between the study rooms and the lounge on the second floor,” Wood says. “When I graduate, I will definitely miss this place.”
For Stockton, the balcony on the second floor offers a quiet place to study or get away when she wants to spend a little bit of time outside. “I’ve spent many afternoons and nights there,” she says.
New Hall contains the Student Government Association office, a conference room and the Student Activities Board office, which brings more students daily on top of the residents of the building. Stockton says she loves the energy around the new facilities.
“As a senior, I hate to think that I’ll have to leave the comfort of campus soon,” she says. “I’ve loved every second I’ve spent there. I’m going to miss it something fierce.”
PHOTO: Seniors Chelsey Bell and Carly Hill in Bell’s room in the Alpha Delta Pi house on Brenau’s historic
Gainesville campus. (AJ Reynolds/Brenau University)
