Time was when a scholarship recipient at Old Dominion could go his or her entire collegiate career without ever meeting the person or company representative responsible for helping them with the financial demands of obtaining a degree.

For more than 10 years, however, the university has sponsored an annual Scholarship Luncheon that brings donors and recipients together, literally putting a face on an otherwise anonymous relationship.

"For the donors, it offers tangible evidence of their support, since they actually get to meet the students their gifts are helping," said Page Anderson, director of regional and annual campaigns at Old Dominion.

"It also lets the students know there are people out there who care about their success and needs for education. Further, it instills a sense of responsibility in the students to continue this tradition of support after they graduate."

Among the donors at the luncheon in December was Lavonne Ellis (M.S.Ed. '70) and the recipient of her scholarship, Rhonda Poole, class of 2000. Ellis has worked since 1974 at Tidewater Community College, Chesapeake campus, where she is a professor of information systems technology. She established a scholarship at Old Dominion in the late 1980s in memory of her husband, Holland, who died in 1987. A member of the Alumni Association board, Holland Ellis had also received a master's in educational administration from the university, in 1975. "Holland was very active at Old Dominion," Ellis said. "We both thought a great deal of the university."

The one-year Holland Dunston Ellis Jr. Memorial Scholarship, which covers almost half the cost of tuition and fees for an undergraduate from Virginia, is set up to support an African-American student who has a minimum GPA of 3.0 and a record of community service.

Recalling her meeting with Poole at the luncheon, Ellis said, "She is a very nice young lady, and she seemed to be quite appreciative. I enjoyed talking to her."

Poole, an information systems major from the small town of New Church on the Eastern Shore, said it was also a good experience for her. "I think you appreciate it more this way, when you can actually see the person who is giving the money."

While students are not required to attend the luncheon, Poole believes it is something they should do out of "consideration and gratitude."

"I'm glad I went," she said.

In 1997-98, Old Dominion disbursed $2 million in academic scholarships from alumni, friends, corporations and organizations to 923 students.

- Steve Daniel