The Changing Face of Ambrose 
 A message from the President 

  The Faces of Dedication

The Faces of Potential

The Faces of Perseverance

The Faces of Caring

The Faces of Actualization

The Faces of Philanthropy

2003 - 04 Honor Roll of Donors

Volunteer Leadership

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College of Business  

It’s not uncommon for college students to hold down a job—or even two—while pursuing their education. But as most students will tell you, the more energy and focus they can devote to their studies instead of supporting themselves, the less time it takes to graduate, with less debt and more material learned.  

Senior Meghan Shafer has the best of both worlds. A double major in computer network administration and criminal justice and computer security at St. Ambrose, Meghan takes a full load of classes while holding down a part-time job. Fortunately, since her sophomore year she’s received a Computer Science, Engineering and Mathematics scholarship (CSEMS) funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The scholarship helps defray school-related expenses, such as the transportation costs of her daily half-hour commute to campus from her home in Matherville, Ill.  

Now in its fifth and final year, the NSF grant has allowed about 30 students a year to pursue a degree in computer science with less worry about financing their education. “We look out for our students from their first day on campus to that last step off the graduation stage,” says Computer and Information Science Department chair Mark McGinn. “I know each of our students personally, and every bit helps.”  

In addition to financial support, the CSEMS grant provides the social and academic support that helps students succeed in their studies.

In fact, due in part to the success of the CSEMS program, St. Ambrose was recently awarded a second NSF grant of $1 million over five years to collaborate with the Eastern Iowa Community College District to address the region’s demand for engineers and technicians in the coming years. Like the CSEMS program, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Talent Extension Program grant will provide financial and academic support to qualified students seeking degrees in engineering, particularly minorities and women.  

“The benefits of the grant extend beyond tuition and books,” says Dr. Michael Opar, chair of the Industrial Engineering Department. “We’re working our graduates into the future needs of the local business community.”

This strategy also “works” for senior John Hoffman of Moline .  

Between a part-time job and full-time studies, John says the scholarship has played an important part in his completing a degree in computer science at St. Ambrose.

“After graduation, I’m looking forward to putting my education to work,” he says.

www.sau.edu/cob

The Year in Review