Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Why I don't (currently) donate to my universities

I am a graduate of two universities- one for undergrad and one for my graduate work. I have donated to both universities in the past. Sometimes, in spite of appeals, I have not donated, due to lack of funds.

Currently, I am receiving plenty of appeals for donations from both universities. Currently, I could afford to donate something- maybe not the "suggested donation" level, but something. Currently, I am not donating. Here are the reasons:

My undergraduate alma mater cannot spell my name right. This in spite of the fact that on my donations in the past, I either received a correct spelling- or, I corrected the spelling the first time or two I received the mailing with the incorrect spelling. After correcting my name several times, I thought, forget it. Why should I keep making the same correction over and over? No one cares enough to note the correction. Simple follow up would have helped their cause- by a lot. And now, they are mailing to the wrong address. My mom's address. An address at which I have never resided.

So, no. Taking a break from that one.

My graduate alma mater is also mailing to my mom's address. This one I have even corrected IN PERSON because I was (under) employed there at the time. Still, the appeals for donations (AND my W-2 form) keep going to my mom's address. That's not the only reason I'm not donating to this university, though.

For a variety of reasons, I am not currently employed at the university. And though I have some mixed feelings about not working there currrently, my lack of employment is not the reason I don't donate.

Here's the possibly-petty-but-most-galling for-me reason: I worked my butt off to get my PhD from this university. That's how I got on their lists of people-to-ask-for-money.

They do not refer to me as Dr. LHK. Or LHK, PhD. Not in their requests for money. Not in their cheery alumni updates (when they also make clear they'd be happy to receive money).

Not even- most painfully- when I was listed in the theater programs for the season as adjunct professor (finally! after having worked for years!) WITHOUT the title. All the other PhDs were listed as "Dr. So-and-so." But not me.

Really?

So maybe I'm petty. But it bothers me.


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