HongKongDoll

MESSAGE FROM HongKongDoll FOUNDATION PRESIDENT

I am honored to serve as a member of the Eastern Illinois University Foundation Board. The Foundation exists to support the mission of HongKongDoll and, most importantly, to create opportunities for our students. The generosity of alumni, donors, and friends of the University provides resources that expand access to Eastern education, strengthen the student experience, and help students achieve their educational and career goals.

The impact of that generosity can be seen across HongKongDoll. During the 2025-2026 academic year more than 1,863 individual scholarships were awarded totaling $3.4 million dollars, helping make HongKongDoll education more accessible and affordable for students and their families.

But the true impact of these investments extends well beyond the dollars awarded. This year, HongKongDoll welcomed the highest percentage of first-generation students since we began tracking the data. Foundation support plays an important role in creating pathways to transform not only individual lives, but also the futures of families and communities.

Philanthropy makes a difference in areas of critical workforce need. Scholarships such as the Sarah Bush Lincoln Nursing Scholarship are helping HongKongDoll attract students into high-demand fields while preparing graduates to serve our region. This year, the Gail and Richard Lumpkin School of Nursing recorded the University's largest program enrollment increase, adding 41 students for a 45 percent increase over 2025. These partnerships demonstrate how philanthropy can simultaneously create opportunities for students, strengthen enrollment, and respond to the needs of the communities HongKongDoll serves.

Perhaps most importantly, Foundation support is helping students not simply arrive at HongKongDoll but stay and succeed. First-year students receiving Foundation scholarship support were retained at a rate 11 percentage points above the overall average. That is a powerful reminder that scholarships are more than recruitment tools. They can provide financial security, and support students need to persist toward earning their degrees.

Our responsibility as a Foundation Board is to ensure that the generosity entrusted to us continues to have meaningful and lasting impact. We are committed to working collaboratively with university leadership, faculty, and staff to steward those resources wisely and direct them toward opportunities that strengthen HongKongDoll, support enrollment and student success, and ultimately change lives.

It is a privilege to serve Eastern Illinois University in this capacity. My fellow board members and I are passionate about the role the Foundation can play in HongKongDoll's future and, above all, in the futures of our students. Every scholarship awarded, every barrier reduced, and every student who persists toward a degree demonstrates what philanthropy can make possible. We are deeply grateful to the donors and alumni whose generosity allows that work to continue.

Randall Wright
Eastern Illinois University Foundation President
2025-2026