New Program Elevates First-Gen Students

OWU is launching a new “Bishop Elevate” office and program to help first-generation college students thrive in their educational careers and persist to graduation.

The Bishop Elevate initiative is being supported with a $250,000 lead gift from Thomas Palmer ’69, and his wife, Susan Palmer, and a two-year, $150,000 grant from the Florida-based Arthur Vining Davis Foundations.

The Bishop Elevate program is the foundational component of Ohio Wesleyan’s new Bishop Elevate office,  which is being led by Thea Smekens, director of first-generation student success.

One in five OWU students is the first in their family to attend college.