Sometimes, college students need more than instruction and professors. So, the Greenville Tech Foundation strives every day to lift up those who need a boost.
“Our focus has been, and probably always will be, scholarships,” says Ann Wright, Vice President for Advancement at the Greenville Tech Foundation.
“We have almost doubled the number of endowed scholarships in the last eight or nine years. This year, we set a record. We helped more than 1,000 students with over $1 million in scholarships. Enrollment at the college is about 12,000; we’re helping 1,000 of the 12,000 students.”
Established in 1973, the mission of the nonprofit Greenville Tech Foundation Inc. is to ensure that the college can provide quality education at a modest cost and reduce the financial barriers to higher education.
To further that goal, the foundation has more than 200 endowed funds that support scholarships. But scholarships don’t necessarily cover needs beyond tuition and textbooks.
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“The foundation and the college embrace the fact that a typical student at Greenville Tech is very different than a typical student at a four-year college,” says J. David Sudduth, Chair of the foundation’s Board of Directors.
“The vast majority of our students are in a transition. Life gets in the way – or tries to get in the way – of their education,” he says.
Sudduth was one of those students in transition when he enrolled at Greenville Tech in 1986, after four years of active service in the U.S. Navy. He later transferred to Clemson University and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees on the way to a career in health care administration.
He now leads Healthy Me, Healthy SC, an organization dedicated to improving access to medical care in rural and underserved areas of the state.
Sudduth has served on the foundation’s board for six years and recently received the college’s Unsung Hero award.
Wright says the past few years have been transformative for the foundation. Notably, board members became aware that students have needs that can’t be filled by the college food pantry, The Caring Corner.
“Many of our students are working and going to school at the same time, and typically they’re supporting families. We needed a program where students could obtain help to get past an emergency that might cause them to stop going to school,” says Wright, who has been with the foundation for eight years.
This year, the foundation used $86,000 from the emergency fund to assist 88 students with issues like past-due rent, utility bills or school supplies, Wright says.
“We can keep students from stopping their studies, help them get past that emergency, and stem the tide of future emergencies.”
Courses at the college helped Wright build on her four-year degree in social work when a previous job led to work in human resources.
Other students might want to master skills that advance their careers or earn degrees or certificates that lead to more fulfilling and better-paying jobs.
“The college offers so many high-demand, highly technical, innovative programs,” Sudduth says. “The vast majority of our students have accepted a job six months before they complete their education. These students are in demand, and I’d venture a guess that when they graduate, they’re making considerably more than most four-year graduates.”
Not only do students gain economic upward mobility, but 80% of them stay in the area, Wright says. “Graduates contribute to the economy. They add to the community.”
Wright says that for every dollar Greenville Technical College invests in a student’s education, the student sees a return of $7.80 in higher future earnings. Graduates, on average, earn almost $400,000 more during their working lives than those with only a high school diploma, she says.
“From being able to live their lives and support their families, to businesses that need employees, to the community as a whole … Everyone benefits.”
The African American Male Scholars Initiative was launched in 2019 when the college commissioned a study and discovered that Black men had poorer grades than students in any other demographic, Wright says. “It was significant. It was glaring. It’s pretty much true nationwide.”
The initiative began with 30 Black men and now has 400 participants.
“With as little as $2,000 per student a year to help with things in and out of the classroom, just five years later, that demographic is performing better than any other,” Wright says.
Sudduth says that the program also creates a sense of community for the men.
“They’re selective about the folks who join. They welcome students hungry for the opportunity and support to achieve their educational dreams. It’s been amazing to watch,” he says.
Looking ahead, Greenville Technical College will welcome a new president in 2025.
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Dr. Keith Miller has served since 2008 and plans to retire in July. He is only the second president of the college. The founding president, Thomas Barton, served from 1962 to 2008. He died in 2020.
“It’s important to remind folks, even people who have lived here for a long time, that Greenville Tech has continued to innovate,” Sudduth says. “It’s not the Greenville Technical College that people remember from 25 years ago. It’s a vastly different place.”
Greenville Tech Foundation recently held a Day of Giving, but donations are put to good use all year long.
“During this holiday season, we are grateful for our many investors who contribute their time, talent and treasure, every year, to help our students succeed,” Wright says.
In the past eight years, the foundation has raised more than $25 million in cash, pledges, gifts-in-kind, and planned gifts to support the college and its students. This fall the foundation launched a program for recurring monthly donors called Greenville Tech Champions.
“We want to raise awareness that a gift of any size is important and goes a long way. It’s not all about big checks,” Wright says. “We hope people will consider a gift, large or small, to welcome in 2025 and help our students and our college. You’re lifting up the whole community when you support Greenville Technical College.”
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