The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges
250 E. Broad St., Suite 1700
Columbus, Ohio 43215-3722

For more information, please contact Cheryl Kight,
614-649-1950 ext. 111 or kight@ofic.org, or
Lynne Briggs, 614-469-1950 ext. 109, or briggs@ofic.org

April 20, 2010

For immediate release

The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges to Induct Mount Union College Alumna Vanita D. Oelschlager into Hall of Excellence

The Ohio Foundation of Independent Colleges (OFIC) will honor an alumna of Mount Union College by induction into its Hall of Excellence on April 21, 2010 at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1987, OFIC established the Hall of Excellence Award whereby outstanding alumni are inducted on an annual basis.  This, OFIC’s twenty-fourth Evening of Excellence, will celebrate three alumni, whose achievements in their fields and service to society exemplify the values of a liberal arts education.

Vanita D. Oelschlager, Mount Union College, Class of 1963, is co-owner of Oak Associates, ltd., a nationally recognized investment advisory company and is also an extraordinary philanthropist, author and poet.   Mrs. Oelschlager began writing books offering insights regarding the daily caregiving challenges of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and established VanitaBooks, LLC, to publish children’s books that teach morals and values and help children resolve anxieties.  All net profits from book sales are donated to help those with MS and to charities helping people help themselves.  Mrs. Oelschlager also co-founded the non-profit Oak Clinic, which offers comprehensive services to MS patients.  She and her husband subsidize the clinic annually, and she often visits the clinic and speaks to other caregivers.   Mrs. Oelschlager has actively supported the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for more than 20 years and has received that organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award and been named “National Volunteer of the Year”.  Her advocacy of children’s health programs, led to the establishment of the Jim and Vanita Oelschlager Center for Child Advocacy at Akron’s Children’s Hospital, which focuses on at-risk children and includes programs on such issues as violence and injury prevention, uninsured health services and health education.  A strong advocate for adoption, she and her husband supported the establishment of the Oak Adoptive Health Center, which educates families involved in domestic, international and special needs adoptions.  Mrs. Oelschlager has also provided exemplary service to her alma mater.  A Mount Union trustee since 1997, she is an honorary chair of the College’s Drive for Distinction Campaign.  She and her husband have been dedicated in their support of the college, most recently providing the lead gift to construct a new science building, Bracy Hall, named for Dr. Carl C. Bracy, sixth president of Mount Union.
 
Hall of Excellence inductees are selected from nominations submitted by OFIC’s member institutions.  A committee of OFIC board members selects Hall of Excellence inductees whose lifetime achievements exemplify the traditions, ideals, strengths and values of private higher education.  The 108 past Hall of Excellence inductees include Senator John Glenn, Jr. and his wife, Annie Glenn, Coretta Scott King, Hugh Downs, and Norman Vincent Peale.

The Evening of Excellence also honors donors, corporate and collegiate volunteers, and students.
OFIC is the primary corporate and foundation solicitation organization for 34 independent Ohio colleges and universities. OFIC member colleges collectively enroll 98,000 students and award one-third of all bachelor’s degrees in the state. For 60 years OFIC has worked to highlight the leadership, value and excellence of independent higher education and has provided unrestricted operating funds and scholarship commitments through funds raised in annual solicitations of businesses and foundations, thereby assuring continuation of excellence in private higher education. OFIC is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of Ohio’s corporate leaders, as well as presidents of the 34 member colleges.

The member colleges are: Ashland University, Baldwin-Wallace College, Bluffton University, Capital University, Cedarville University, University of Dayton, Defiance College, Denison University, The University of Findlay, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Franklin University, Heidelberg University, Hiram College, John Carroll University, Kenyon College, Lake Erie College, Lourdes College, Malone University, Marietta College, Mount Union College, Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Muskingum University, Notre Dame College, Oberlin College, Ohio Dominican University, Ohio Northern University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Otterbein College, Urbana University, Ursuline College, Walsh University, Wilmington College, Wittenberg University and The College of Wooster.

###