April 23, 2021
Ursuline College President Sister Christine De Vinne, OSU, PhD, will be awarded the Council of Independent Colleges’ 2020 Charles W.L. Foreman Award, the highest honor given by the organization’s State Councils, in a virtual ceremony on April 27, 2021.
The award is presented annually to a college president or corporate trustee who has demonstrated an outstanding record of service, leadership and commitment that distinguishes the recipient from their peers in support of the CIC’s State Councils’ mission to promote independent higher education.
Bill Spiker, president of The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC), nominated Sister Christine to receive this national CIC award in recognition of her leadership, service, and participation on numerous committees, panel discussions, conferences, and seminars at the state and national levels.
"Sister Christine is a founding committee member of our Women’s Scholarship Initiative which raises money in support of non-traditional age female students who are returning to college in pursuit of their bachelor’s degree,” Spiker wrote. Launched in 2015, this initiative has raised nearly $380,000 to fund 114 scholarships awarded to 88 students enrolled at 24 of OFIC's 33 member campuses.
“Above it all, Sister Christine has a giving spirit and very welcoming, engaging attitude and approach to her support of independent higher education across the country, of The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges on the state-level in her home state of Ohio, and mostly with her impactful, insightful, and devoted leadership of her alma mater, Ursuline College. She is most deserving of this honor and it is a privilege to nominate her for the 2020 Charles W. L. Foreman Award,” Spiker wrote.
"Like Ursuline College, the Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges and the Council of Independent Colleges seek to transform students through higher education. Together these organizations are strong allies in our mission, and it is an honor to be recognized by them," Sister Christine said.
Spiker originally nominated Sister Christine to receive the award in spring 2020. Due to the pandemic, the 2020 award ceremony was cancelled and rescheduled as a live virtual event set for April 27.
The award is named in honor of Foreman, who served as president of the UPS Foundation and board chair of the Foundation for Independent Higher Education, which merged with CIC in 2010.
OFIC is one of 27 State Councils affiliated with the national CIC and represents 80,000 students at 33 Ohio indepdendent colleges and universities.
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About Ursuline College – Founded in 1871, Ursuline College is an accredited liberal arts college rooted in Catholic traditions of intellectual inquiry and social justice. Ursuline educates students for service, leadership and professional excellence through an array of undergraduate, graduate and degree-completion programs in the liberal arts, nursing, and professional studies. At Ursuline, women-focused undergraduate programs and co-educational graduate and degree-completion programs foster lifelong learning. The College offers 11 sports competing at the NCAA Division II level. www.ursuline.edu
About OFIC – The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) was founded in 1950 to conduct annual solicitations of companies and foundations to benefit private colleges in Ohio. OFIC today has 33 member institutions and 80,000 students. Solicitation is conducted annually with the help of hundreds of corporate and collegiate volunteers calling on companies and foundations headquartered or doing business in Ohio. OFIC raises both unrestricted and restricted gifts including scholarships and endowments. Unrestricted gifts are largely used for student financial aid.
About CIC – The Council of Independent Colleges is an association of more than 760 nonprofit independent colleges and universities, state-based councils of independent colleges, and other higher education affiliates, that works to support college and university leadership, advance institutional excellence, and enhance public understanding of independent higher education’s contributions to society. CIC is the major national organization that focuses on services to leaders of independent colleges and universities and state-based councils. CIC offers conferences, seminars, publications, and other programs and services that help institutions improve educational quality, administrative and financial performance, student outcomes, and institutional visibility. It conducts the largest annual conferences of college and university presidents and of chief academic officers in the United States. Founded in 1956, CIC is headquartered at One Dupont Circle in Washington, DC.
