Antioch Welcomes
Patricia Rosely,
Director of Development
By Rachel Moulton ’97

Antioch College is excited to announce the arrival of the new
Director of Development, M. Patricia (Patty) Rosely. Patty
moved to Dayton, Ohio in 1991 to work at CITYFOLK, the
Miami Valley’s traditional and ethnic arts organization. She stayed for nearly nine years, ending her time there as Director of Development. During her first days with CITYFOLK, Patty became aware of Antioch through the jazz education program that involved professor and jazz guru Steve Schwerner ’60 and Antioch students, and later during a teacher-training program held on campus. Patty was drawn to Antioch through her positive experiences with the College combined with her desire to contribute to a strong educational institution.

Patty is interested in building community, and while Antioch is her first non-arts organization job, she sees it immediately as an opportunity: “What I’ve discovered about myself is that no matter what I’m spending my time on, if it doesn’t in some way contribute to community building, I’m just not interested.”

This dedication to community might well explain her approach during her first months at Antioch. Patty is getting to know the campus: “I’m in that learning curve phase. I’m trying to meet with folks within the community to hear their perspectives on what’s happening on campus so I have a full depth of understanding.” Patty understands that Antioch is all about its students. With a clear understanding of students and their daily lives, she can address past, present, and future donors with energy and enthusiasm: “You have to be able to communicate what’s on your ‘stage.’ What’s going on in the classroom? What are the co-op challenges and successes? What improvements need to be made to student living conditions?” In the first phase of her work at Antioch, Patty has sought out this knowledge by meeting with everyone from President Joan Straumanis ’57 to student groups such as the Green Council (GreenCil). She has attended a variety of meetings, ranging from Community Meeting to the Presidential Staff Group.

Patty isn’t waiting for Antioch to knock on her office door but is actively educating herself about what makes the College merit funding.

Once Patty has a grasp on the community and how to help meet its needs, she wants to make sure the education goes the other way as well: “The community needs to understand what we’re doing in Development, and it should be asked to give. I know that’s going to be controversial, and we’re not going to do that tomorrow, but I’d like to see the community contribution at 100%. Everyone should be giving! It doesn’t have to be a lot, five or ten dollars, but I think we’ll find departments who are willing to start doing that.” Patty tells a particular success story about a time when she was helping CITYFOLK to build up to a large-scale folk festival: “All fund raising was done by grant writing, so we decided to have a development committee and do things as they should be done. So at this first meeting one board member, a respected business leader in the community, says, ‘I don’t think I have to give money to CITYFOLK because I volunteer my time.’ Within three years, that person was not only one of our major individual donors but that individual’s company became the lead sponsor of the festival with a six-figure gift over four years. It starts with one person at a time and one committee at a time. We’re not going to find millions of dollars doing this, but it’s a changing of attitude that builds community and provides proof to other funders of our internal commitment.”

Patty believes Antioch must change its attitude and move forward without always thinking of itself as a “poor” institution. When Patty first began working in the arts in the early 80s, there were few to no benefits to speak of. It was during this time that Patty learned to stop believing that the arts couldn’t afford it. She brings this same attitude to Antioch: “We have to find a way to afford it!” Patty’s vision for the College is not limited to meeting financial targets, but includes a campus-wide attitude change.

The role of alumni as ambassadors is also extraordinarily important to Patty’s vision: “The alumni need to be engaged…people support organizations that mean something to them.” Referring back to a recent joint meeting with Admissions and Development, Patty speaks in support of a comment made by Jocelyn Robinson, Interim Director of Admissions, “When alumni refer a student to Antioch, they’ve made a significant donation to the College. We need to start counting these people as donors.”

Patty hopes to be a guide for her staff, helping them to stay on target: “I think part of my job is helping us focus. For us right now, our focus is our Annual Fund goal. It will always be our Annual Fund goal, but as we start to oil that machine a little bit, we’ll be able to focus on other things as well.”

Patty’s active engagement with the community and her previous professional experience promise a strong year ahead for Antioch’s Development efforts.

[ Top of Page ] [ Top Stories ] [ University News ] [ Campus News ]
[ Alumni News ] [ Book Notes ] [ Class Notes ] [ Obituaries ] [ Antiochian Home ] [ Spring 2003 Site Map ] [ Send Us Your News ]