By Julia Mace, UC Foundation

    Benya Coleman, A&S ’26, and Silas Curry, CECH ’27, say that without the support of the Marian Spencer Scholars Program, they would not be enrolled at the University of Cincinnati.

     Minutes away on the UC Health campus, nurse practitioners, therapists, nutritionists and social workers at the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute improve the lives of patients with ALS and provide multidisciplinary personalized care.

    What these students and patients have in common is they were supported by donors to Next, Now: The Campaign for Cincinnati. The University of Cincinnati Foundation’s fundraising campaign for UC and UC Health officially ended in June, having raised $2.19 billion in overall donor support.

    The campaign was launched publicly in 2019 in conjunction with the university’s Bicentennial year.

Scholarships transform lives: Campaign donors provided paths to student success by creating 793 new scholarship and fellowship funds during the life of Next, Now. This includes the Marian Spencer Scholars, a program that provides 10 Cincinnati Public School graduates a year with full UC tuition, room and board, and additional resources and experiences. The program is in its third year, and there are currently 30 Spencer Scholars.

    “I would not have been in college without the scholarship,” Coleman says. “I’m able to become a doctor, which is my dream career. I am beyond thankful, and I hope in the future I can do something like this for someone else.”

     During the campaign, the university received the largest donation to scholarships in its 200-plus-year history from the estate of Hugh H. Hoffman, MBA ’63. Hoffman’s $56 million estate gift created the Hoffman Honors Scholars program across three undergraduate colleges and will also provide support for UC student-athletes. The inaugural cohort of 12 Hoffman Honors Scholars will begin in the 2024-2025 academic year.

During the life of the Next, Now campaign, 37,287 unique donors contributed to scholarship funds at UC.

Hoffman estate supports UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute ALS patients.

    The Hoffman estate also gave $13.5 million that will revolutionize research and patient care related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the ALS Multidisciplinary Clinic at the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute.

    This gift will impact nearly 200 patients in the Tri-State region each year. Since the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute opened its standalone outpatient facility in 2019, clinicians have provided care for more than 80,000 patients across 1,800 United States zip codes.

    “ALS care at UC continues to grow in scope of care and research opportunities,” says Robert Neel, MD ’00, a specialist in ALS and autoimmune neuromuscular disorders and director of the ALS Multidisciplinary Clinic. “The Hoffman gift has opened new research doors already, and we have recently hired our dietician and counselor to help with care. Both are scheduling patients. I have never been so excited to be in this field.”

     Evolving student and patient spaces: UC’s campus has transformed since the Next, Now launch. The College of Allied Health Sciences, Carl H. Lindner College of Business and College of Law have new student-focused spaces and buildings. The list of new facilities includes Clifton Court Hall, the university’s largest classroom building, serving the College of Arts and Sciences.

    Donors also supported new facilities, patient care initiatives and research at UC Health, Greater Cincinnati’s academic health care system. Philanthropic investments allowed for the construction of the UC Gardner Neuroscience Institute’s new outpatient facility as well as renovation of the inpatient Neuroscience ICU and construction of a new state-of-the-art emergency department at UC Medical Center.

     The new University of Cincinnati Cancer Center Blood Cancer Healing Center, also powered by philanthropy, hosts 30 inpatient beds, outpatient clinics, 24-hour symptom support, infusion therapies, stem cell and cellular therapies and 40-plus clinical trials.

     Faculty research and scholarly innovation: Through the campaign, donors invested in research, innovation and the work of UC faculty members. This includes creating 33 new chairs and professorships to recruit and retain faculty excellence; 29 of these positions were endowed.

    Other gifts expanded new lines of research into areas like cancer treatment. A collaboration between BSI Engineering and the nonprofit GIVEHOPE created a pilot grant program for research at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center. These pilot research grants, awarded annually to investigators studying the causes, disease path and treatment for pancreatic cancer, are now a key pipeline for early-stage research that can lead to national funding and clinical trials.

    This philanthropic partnership has made it possible for nine faculty researchers to launch 18 new studies into the causes and treatments of cancer.

     A new era for UC Athletics: Donors propelled UC Athletics forward at the start of the campaign by funding renovations at Nippert Stadium and Fifth Third Arena. The Day One Ready campaign supported UC’s more than 450 student-athletes as part of the university’s move to the Big 12.

    UC Athletics celebrated the largest gift in its history from Larry and Rhonda Sheakley, spearheading the multimillion-dollar Indoor Practice Facility and Performance Center. This facility will feature a 120-yard field, nutrition station, weight room and sports medicine offices, among other amenities. It will be the permanent, all-weather home for UC football to train year-round, and a versatile practice facility for other UC sports.

    The upgraded men’s and women’s basketball team facilities at Fifth Third Arena, including locker room enhancements, were funded entirely by donors.

     The generosity of Bearcat supporters established student-wellness initiatives involving access to mental health services and additional registered dieticians.

     Donors supporting the Women’s Excellence Fund immediately impacted female student-athletes by increasing each team’s nutrition budget, recovery tools, special equipment and facilities.

    Additional campaign facts:

• 165,378 donors gave to the campaign.
• Donors were from all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and 49 countries.
• 92.3% of gifts were under $1,000.

    The Foundation’s previous campaign, Proudly Cincinnati, raised $1.1 billion by its June 30, 2013, close.

    Neville G. Pinto, President, University of Cincinnati, said: “Our Bearcat family of donors and alumni has made a vast impact by supporting our students through scholarships, soaring new spaces, and life-altering opportunities for our student-athletes. This benevolent partnership has positioned us as we embark on the next 200 years of UC greatness.”

    O. Richard Bundy, III, President, University of Cincinnati Foundation: “Our donors have demonstrated a commitment to excellence, ensuring that no one has to leave Cincinnati to receive the best possible education or world-class health care. Their generosity has allowed us to break through to the next level in academics, athletics, research, technology, innovation and culture.”

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By Cedric Ricks

University of Cincinnati Communications

Shadowing physicians, balancing studies and sports while still finding time for Marvel’s antics, Benya Coleman never gets tired of the well wishes and she’s still a bit teary-eyed.

The high school senior was one of 10 students awarded the University of Cincinnati’s Marian Spencer Scholarship created to recognize high-achieving students in Cincinnati Public Schools (CPS). Coleman, a student at nationally accredited and STEM-certified Hughes STEM High School, was caught by surprise with the announcement at a school gathering earlier this year.

“I always hear congratulations from strangers, teachers and co-workers,” says Coleman. “It means a lot to see people in the community showing love. People always tell me how lucky I am and I agree.”

Coleman doesn’t bring it up to strangers or even family or friends because she doesn’t want to seem like “I’m bragging, and I am not,” says Coleman. “This is just such good news, it’s hard not to share. I think to myself, ‘If they haven’t seen it anywhere then maybe I shouldn’t bring up,’ but if I’m asked about scholarships or what college, I am going to reply with ‘I got a full ride to UC!’”

Coleman graduated from Hughes STEM High School Tuesday, May 17, at a ceremony at Fifth Third Arena at UC. She plans to study medical sciences at UC and has been admitted into the UC College of Medicine. Coleman has wanted to be an obstetrician for years.

The Marian Spencer Scholarship is made possible thanks to an investment of $6 million  — the result of a gift from UC alumnus and venture capitalist Jim Goetz and university matching funds — and will allow 10 CPS students a year to receive full tuition, room and board scholarships and other opportunities. The first 10 Spencer Scholars will enroll in fall 2022, and by 2023 the program will include at least one student from each of the 18 high schools within CPS. 

Coleman says the scholarship announcement has just made her work harder in school and not disappoint her family. She is employed at a Cincinnati hospital as part of a school-to-work program. “I enjoy being in a hospital environment,” says Coleman. “It’s very rare to graduate high school with two years of hospital experience in eight different departments.”

She also finds time to stay active in sports, playing volleyball and softball and has a weekend job at a restaurant to make extra money.

“I use my free time, whenever I get some, to watch thriller movies and to try and remake foods off of TikTok,” says Colemen. “I also enjoy remaking movie scenes from my favorite movies. I like the movies “The Book of Life,” “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” “Turning Red,” “The Book of Henry,” “Dreamgirls,” and I love the TV show “Law and Order.”

“I did want to write, direct and act in movies when I was younger,” says Coleman. “I’m also a really big Marvel fan, I can talk about Marvel for hours and rewatch all the movies.”

After Coleman’s high school graduation, she plans to continue working during the summer, but also try to find time for some fun before UC classes begin. She’s also excited about the chance to shadow medical professionals at a hospital in New York, attend a wedding in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and to get a driver’s license.

“I’m so excited to start UC this fall,” says Coleman. “I have nothing but love and thanks to the entire UC community. I don’t think they understand how they have changed my life for the better. UC makes dreams come true.”

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