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Roundup of media coverage of :

Dayton Daily News:

Academy and Emmy Award winner Tom Hanks and Amanda Wright Lane, great grandniece of Orville and Wilbur Wright, will lead the largest fundraising campaign in 91���� University’s 47-year history. The university will announce it at a private event on Saturday evening.

The $150 million “Rise.Shine. The Campaign for 91���� University” will be formally announced by WSU President David Hopkins during an event at the Nutter Center that is expected to include almost 700 students, faculty, staff, donors and other guests.

Dayton Daily News:

Hanks has donated items for 91����’s annual ArtsGala fundraiser, including allowing auctioning off a trip to be on the set of “Angels and Demons” in Rome. In 2005, the Tom Hanks Scholarship Fund was established and awards four scholarships a year.

It was during one of those trips to California where 91���� President Hopkins met Hanks for the first time.

“We love Tom Hanks and he loves 91����,” Hopkins said.

Hopkins has spent time with Hanks throughout the years and has the opportunity to share 91����’s story. “He wanted to hear about 91���� beyond just the theater and the arts,” Hopkins said. “I had a chance to visit with him about veterans and he’s a major supporter of veterans and military personnel. I talked to him about our mission and how much it matters in this 21st century.” 

WHIO-TV:

91���� President David R. Hopkins discusses Tom Hanks’ relationship with 91����.

Dayton Business Journal:

“This is a big deal for us, it’s no small number but it’s an attainable one,” said David Hopkins, president of 91����. “We’re keeping the focus with this effort on the students, and our goal is to provide them an affordable, high-quality education in a way that helps them be successful.”

The fundraising will go in part toward student scholarships and support services. The school hosts a number of first-generation students, and growing portions of its student body are non-traditional students and veterans, many of whom don’t have the same support system as students out of high school.

Funding will support scholarships, faculty recruitment and support services to help students through school.

WDTN 2 News: 

The Rise.Shine. campaign will help expand scholarships, attract faculty and support construction of new facilities.

“This campaign is all about student success. It will change 91���� forever and the generation of students to come,” said WSU President David Hopkins. “It’s going to grow our prominence and relevance in 21st century education.”

The university says more than $106 million in gifts and pledges were already raised.

“We’re excited about the campaign because of the difference it will make to the students, their success and the future of the institution,” said Provost S. Narayanan. “It’s going to be a lasting legacy.”

Columbus Dispatch:

“91���� is a rising leader in 21st-century higher education,” Hanks said. “From groundbreaking research to world-class fine and performing arts, this university truly has a mission that matters.”

Hanks in 1998 donated to 91���� for a scholarship fund in his name. The school near Dayton says 67 students in acting, dance and other theater studies have benefited. Hanks also has donated autographed movie posters for an annual ArtsGala event at 91����.