Alvernia Receives Largest Gift in University’s History
September 17, 2008
Pictured left to right: Thomas Flynn, Ginny Hand, and Carolyn and Jerry Holleran.
A Berks County couple with a passion for community service and a personal record of meaningful community engagement in Berks County have donated a $3 million gift to Alvernia University, the largest single gift in the 50-year history of the private Franciscan University.
T. Jerome (Jerry) and Carolyn Holleran of Reading have chosen to support the Center for Community Engagement, which will be renamed the Holleran Center for Community Engagement at Alvernia. The Hollerans’ gift includes working capital to enhance the work of the Center in the Reading community as well as provisions to permanently endow it.
The Hollerans have a long-standing relationship with Alvernia. Mrs. Holleran served as a trustee from 1992-2000, serving two terms each as Vice Chair and then Chair. Holleran completes a term on the Board of Trustees this year. They endowed a student scholarship and have made leadership gifts to numerous capital projects over the last 18 years, including the campaign to build the student center, among others.
The Hollerans have supported not only Alvernia but also their alma maters: Connecticut University and Carnegie Mellon, where Holleran was a scholarship recipient because a mentor paved the way for him to attend to study engineering. The mentor asked only that Holleran make his own contribution to education someday, which fueled a lifetime of support for private higher education.
“The Hollerans’ commitment and generosity to their community are inspirational. This gift underscores their deep appreciation for Alvernia’s mission and its contributions to Reading and Berks County,” said President Thomas F. Flynn, adding that service to the local community is deeply rooted in the values of Alvernia’s foundresses and sponsors, the Bernardine Franciscan Sisters.
“This magnificent gift will shape Alvernia’s future and help us realize our ambitious vision of becoming a distinctive Franciscan University,” Flynn continued. “The Hollerans are making possible a significant expansion of community-based learning projects involving a range of faculty and students. They are helping us realize our goal to make our community an integral part of our curriculum and, in doing so, to contribute to the revitalization of Reading.”
The Center for Community Engagement was established in 2006 by Flynn, who had a vision of Alvernia’s future and how the students’ coursework and co-curriculum should embrace and reflect the University’s mission and values. An office was needed to develop strategic service-learning partnerships and to coordinate the University’s myriad service projects.
Ginny Hand, director of the Center for Community Engagement said, “This wonderful gift will allow us to share with our students and the entire Alvernia community the values of civic mindedness and service that the Hollerans exemplify.” She added, “In helping us develop leadership programs and fellowships for our students and faculty, their gift will impact our community for years to come.”
In less than two years, the Center has enabled the community to become an essential learning laboratory for Alvernia students and faculty, especially through the South Reading Youth Initiative, serving young teens by introducing them to workshops at the GoggleWorks and the Institute of the Arts, day camps, and other initiatives pursued with help and guidance from Alvernia students and Center personnel.
The Center has served as a prominent “front door” for the University’s many community-based projects, including hosting a new Non-Profit Roundtable with the Chamber of Commerce, a community resource for executives of local non-profits. It has cosponsored a free lecture series on topical issues related to ethics, service, and community.
Alvernia University was named to the 2007 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll in recognition of innovative and effective community service and service-learning programs. Given each year to only a handful of institutions, it is the highest federal recognition a University or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement.
For more information about the Holleran Center for Community Engagement at Alvernia University, call (610) 790-1923.