The College of Business Legacy Committee has announced the first College of Business senior class gift campaign. The senior class gift from the graduating class of 2006 will be renovations to the student lounge located in Wohlers Hall.

“The campaign has been talked about because a lot of other top business schools run programs like this,” said Renee Sinow, assistant director for the College of Business. “This year we decided to go ahead and do it.”

The Legacy Committee is composed of six seniors in the business college and is in its first year. The committee was set up to organize the college’s senior class gift. The campaign is a joint effort between the College of Business Undergraduate Affairs and the College of Business Development Office. The committee has set the goal of raising between $35,000 and $50,000 for the renovations. The committee hopes to create more space in the student lounge by connecting offices to the lounge, said Travis Loomis, senior in accounting and chairman of the committee.

“One of the big things for the Business College is group projects,” Loomis said. “We fight for tables at the Undergrad and we wanted space that was more accommodating.”

The donations coming from the class of 2006 play a huge factor in the rankings of the business college.

Among Big Ten schools, the University has one of the lowest percentages of alumni donations, while Penn State University has the highest percentage for alumni donations. Lauren Steinberg, assistant director for the Office of Annual Giving at Penn State, said Penn State raised more than $100,000 last May for their senior class gift.

Sinow said the college relies on private funding and alumni donations since state funding has declined in recent years.

“We are trying to educate students on giving back because we truly need financial support from our alumni,” Sinow said.

Donations from alumni also help with the ranking of the college in reports. More donations from alumni will better the rankings of the college.

The senior class gift will not only help with college rankings, but it will help the class of 2006 and future classes leave their mark on the University, Sinow said.

“A senior class gift will create a sense of class pride,” said Lauren Lavorato, vice president of Student Relations for the Legacy Committee and senior in Business. Lavorato said it is important to give back to the college because of the many opportunities the college offers to its students.