The California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment

By Daniele Hagen

May 6, 2008, seemed like a fairly typical day at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Legislators and lobbyists, chatting on cell phones, navigated the marble-floored halls on their way to meetings, staffers and interns in business suits held impromptu discussions in the historic Rotunda, and busloads of schoolchildren, accompanied by teachers and chaperones, hoping for a glimpse of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, paraded through the building on school field trips. For the California Community Colleges, however, May 6, 2008, was a remarkable day.

	Image courtesy of Sharpe Photography
	Bernard Osher recognized by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on May 6, 2008

A Remarkable Day Indeed
With Governor Schwarzenegger standing directly to her right and community college students representing many walks of life as a backdrop, California Community Colleges Chancellor Diane Woodruff announced during a live press conference in the Governor’s Office the single largest gift ever made to a community college system: a $70 million commitment from The Bernard Osher Foundation to support California Community College students. Woodruff went on to explain the basics of the commitment: $25 million was provided upfront to establish the California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment and launch a three-year matching fundraising campaign.

The Foundation for California Community Colleges (FCCC), in conjunction with the California Community Colleges, is tasked with raising $50 million over the next three years, which will, based on the matching agreement, guarantee another $25 million from the Osher Foundation. The end result will be a $100 million permanent endowment that will provide scholarships for generations to come. In addition, Osher also pledged $20 million to support endowed scholarship programs at the California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) campuses that do not currently have Osher scholarship programs in place. The scholarships will be designated for students transferring from community colleges to CSU or UC campuses.

Beginning in 2009, Endowment scholarships of at least $1,000 per academic year will help financially strained students offset the cost of attending college, making it possible for them to stay in school by providing money for textbooks, equipment, uniforms, and other instructional supplies. Scholarships will be distributed among all 110 California Community Colleges based on enrollment, and will go to a minimum of five students per college. Students with financial need who have demonstrated success and dedication in their coursework are ideal candidates for the scholarships and will be given preference. To be eligible, students must have completed 24 units of degree-applicable study, be enrolled in at least six units, and qualify for the Board of Governors fee waiver. The fee waiver takes care of enrollment fees based on demonstrated financial need, but does not cover tuition. Scholarship recipients will be designated “Osher Scholars.” During the first year, at least 1,250 students will receive scholarships totaling at least $1.25 million. By 2011, when the Endowment reaches its $100 million goal, more than 5,000 students will be awarded scholarships annually.

“We are all overjoyed about this historic and unprecedented gift to the California Community Colleges,” said Woodruff. “The Osher scholarships will provide much needed financial support to many of our students, who may not otherwise be able to complete their studies.” Schwarzenegger, himself a California Community College alumnus, echoed Woodruff’s sentiment saying, “This historic gift…will help thousands of our state’s community college students succeed each year. I know firsthand the incredible value of community colleges from my time at Santa Monica College. They serve a vital role in preparing our workforce, and this gift will provide innumerable benefits to our state’s economy and diverse communities.”

The Quiet Philanthropist
Bernard Osher, who generally eschews public recognition, declined to speak at the press conference announcing his unprecedented gift. He grew up in Biddeford, Maine, and graduated from Bowdoin College before embarking on a successful career in business. Getting his start managing his family’s hardware and plumbing supplies store, Osher  went on to learn the inner workings of Wall Street brokerage by taking an unpaid job at Oppenheimer & Company in New York. In 1963, with members of his family, Osher purchased Golden West Financial which, under his leadership, became the nation’s third largest savings and loan company. Golden West Financial was the parent company of World Savings Bank, the second largest savings institution in the United States, which merged with Wachovia Corporation in 2006.

When asked how his upbringing and educational experience influenced his desire to support higher education, Osher said, “I am the son of immigrants who never had the opportunity to pursue higher education but worked hard to ensure that their children did. I always knew that education was something that could never be taken away from you— that it gave you the chance to realize your potential, gain self-confidence, learn about the world in which we live, and earn a satisfactory living. I have been fortunate in my life and I am interested in helping others gain the respect for learning and education.”

Bernard Osher and his wife Barbro, a native of Sweden, established The Bernard Osher Foundation in San Francisco in 1977 with the mission to improve quality of life through support for higher education and the arts. The Foundation provides postsecondary scholarship funding to colleges and universities across the nation, with special attention to re-entry students. It also benefits programs in integrative medicine in the United States and Sweden and supports 119 Osher Lifelong Learning Institutes, a growing national learning network for seasoned adults. In addition, the Foundation provides grants to an array of performing arts organizations, museums, and selected educational programs in Northern California and in Mr. Osher’s native state of Maine. The Foundation’s lead gift to the California Community Colleges Scholarship Endowment is its most significant commitment to date.

The decision to make such a significant commitment required a great deal of research and investigation, and the information Osher gathered had quite an impact on him. “I was impressed with the sheer size of the system—serving 2.6 million people on an annual basis, and with the range and importance of its educational offerings. As my education about the value of our community colleges was increasing, I read about the ever-growing financial challenges facing the system and its students,” Osher said.

Inspiring Others to Contribute

	Image courtesy of Sharpe Photography
	Governor Schwarzenegger and Chancellor Woodruff

Osher is hopeful that his investment will inspire others to contribute by bringing to light the value of the system, saying, “It is my hope that our commitment to California’s community college students will hearten other major donors and charitable foundations to invest as well. More than any other institutions of higher education, the community colleges provide first-instance opportunities for advancement to the most diverse and financially needy of our people and truly are the great enfranchisers of our citizenry.” Representing a true cross section of the state, over 60% of California Community College students come from ethnically diverse backgrounds.

FCCC President and CEO Paul I. Lanning, Ed. D, couldn’t agree more, saying, “California’s community colleges haven’t been at the table when it comes to philanthropy. To me, the Osher gift changes things for community colleges nationwide: it tells the public that community colleges want and need support.”  Despite the fact that Americans donate billions of dollars to higher education annually, only 2% goes to community colleges. That, on top of the fact that many community college students work full-time while attending and still have unmet financial need after all other aid is factored in, only underscores the impact the Osher gift will have on the future of California Community Colleges and the millions of students they serve. While the system educates two-thirds of all California undergraduates, it still receives a lesser percentage of state funding in proportion to the number of students served.

Mary Bitterman, president of The Bernard Osher Foundation, acknowledged the imbalance that is present in giving to higher education, “The Foundation has given millions to universities over the past few years, but it just recently became clear that community colleges needed significantly more financial help. The more we have focused on the needs of California, we have really begun to look at the critical role community colleges play,” she said. “What you read about is David Rockefeller giving $100 million to Harvard. Our trustees decided that we would really like to help community college students.” To keep things in perspective, consider this: Harvard’s endowment is nearly $35 billion; the university serves roughly 20,000 students per year and boasts more than 270,000 living alumni. City College of San Francisco, the largest of the California Community Colleges, alone serves 100,000 students a year.

As for the students who will benefit from his generosity, Osher recognizes that they represent great potential to carry on his legacy saying, “I hope the people who receive our scholarships will, in turn, assist others in whatever manner they are able—whether through tutoring and mentoring, community service, or even helping to fund additional scholarships.”

Focus, Focus, Focus
Bernard Osher’s interests reach beyond his philanthropic work. An ardent fly fisherman and lover of American art, he is also a serious student of opera. However, when, over the course of a day at his Foundation, talk of potential investments and current projects evolves into a discussion about opera, Osher is quick to redirect the conversation, telling Bitterman, “We need to focus, focus, focus.” That intense focus has resulted in a history-making commitment to California Community Colleges.

When asked what keeps him motivated to stay so focused, Osher said, “There is nothing more satisfying than helping others to realize their potential and celebrate their dreams.”