Ryan ChartrandCal Poly’s University Advancement division has appointed Allison Jones as its first scholarship coordinator in order to increase the number of available scholarships and improve student-donor relations.
In an effort to improve scholarships, internships and endowments, Jones will coordinate donor relations and will develop and maintain the scholarship-giving Web site.
“This position is the perfect match for what I am accustomed to doing,” Jones said.
A University of San Diego graduate, Jones received a degree in sociology in 2000. Having previously served as the director of resource development for Kids Included Together, a nonprofit organization based in San Diego, Jones comes to Cal Poly from Children’s Hospital Central California in Fresno. She worked there as the foundation representative for major and planned gifts.
Though satisfied with her previous position at the children’s hospital, Jones said that she had developed a strong interest in San Luis Obispo after visiting the city on numerous occasions.
Jones said she had kept her eye on the local job market for quite some time, paying particular attention to opportunities that became available at Cal Poly.
“I really wanted to get involved in the San Luis Obispo area and when I saw that Cal Poly was looking for a scholarship coordinator, I felt that it was the perfect opportunity,” Jones said.
When she came to Cal Poly to be interviewed for the position, Anne Harris, the director of special gifts for the University Advancement division and the person ultimately in charge of hiring for the new position, said Jones left quite a first impression on her.
“During the interview she had shown out brightest among the candidates for scholarship coordinator,” Harris said. “She’s enthusiastic, well-educated, and an experienced professional. She was the perfect fit.”
Prior to Jones’ appointment, Harris said that the scholarship program was coordinated by several staff members, and in order to make the program more efficient, a key person was needed to oversee the program and improve scholarship appointments and student advice.
In her brief tenure as the scholarship coordinator, Jones has already laid out several goals, including but not limited to coordinating with financial aid and donors for new scholarships and improving donor-student relations.
“One of our main goals is to improve the relationship that students have with their scholarship donors – getting the opportunity to get to speak with and become familiar with their donors and vice versa,” Jones said.
Cal Poly currently offers over 512 scholarships and 335 endowments. Jones said that she would like to help as many students take advantage of these gifts as possible, and try to establish new donors for even more scholarships opportunities.
“I’m very excited about the new position and I hope to bring a lot of momentum to enhance the scholarship program,” Jones said.